A study case on Timiz (Piper Capense)

Marion Avril

sous la direction de Franccedilois Verdeaux

Ethiopie Octobre 2008

Piper capense is named timiz in Amharic it is means curly as a reference to its

special shape Timiz (Piper Capense) known as long black pepper is an endemic plant of

East Africa found in wet highlands it is produced traditionally for human consumption

and medical use It is also popular in the Islamic regions of North Africa where it has

been introduced by Arab traders Timiz is essentially found in the Bongas coffee forest

of the South West of Ethiopia It is linked to Ethiopian culture in several different

aspects it is gathered in a unique ecosystem transformed in traditional ways and the

fact that it is used in many national disheshellip

1 Several names for one spice

Area Name Others Ethiopians NamesLocal area Turfo Turifo amp turfo (kefinya)Regional area timiz timiz (Amharic)National level timiz Tunjo amp turfo (Orominya)International Long black pepper Tinja (Dawrigna)Botanical Latin Piper capense Tonjo (Tigrinya)

Tableau 1 Several names for one spice (Edwards S amp al2000)

In this report we will speak about two kinds of long black pepper whose

Amharic names have a very similar consonance So to avoid confusion the long black

pepper locally produced (Timiz) will be named laquo abesha timiz raquo and the Indian long

black pepper imported (Temist) ldquofarenji timizrdquo Names given by traders in Addis

Ababas Merkato

2

1 Description and distinctiveness of the product

On Ethiopian markets the main appellation used for the piper capense is timiz

Sometimes a reference to the production site is made ( Bonga area o Dawero area)

Confusion between kororima and timiz is also made because of similar taste Strangely

the timizrsquo volume is not in correspondence with its reputation Indeed the quantity of

timiz produced in Bonga area is around 150T (personal estimation) and it is possible to

find timiz all over the country Perhaps this can be explained by the way timiz is used In

cooking housewives just need a few amount of timiz to have a strong taste so 1kg of

timiz can be enough for one year

11 TIMIZ AND THE INDIAN LONG BLACK PEPPER

The abesha timiz ( produced in Ethiopia) is sometimes referred to the farenji

timiz (Indian long pepper Piper Longum L) which is mostly found in tropical Asia

(India Malaysia Nepal Sri Lanka Vietnam South of China) (Edwards S amp al2000)

Very famous in Indian cooking and Islamic regions is more expensive on the Ethiopian

markets so Ethiopian people prefers to buy timiz Because of very high importationrsquos

3

Illustration 1 Farenji timiz amp Abesha timiz (Avril2008)

taxes farenji timiz is found in markets at very high prices Consequently cheaper

substitutes have been researched and produced One is the piper capense referred to as

timiz It is said to have different flavor and aroma than Indian long pepper The flavor of

timiz is described as less strong in lsquopepper tastersquo but with different aroma

12 EUROPE AND THE LONG BLACK PEPPER Long pepper probably came to Europe before the now dominant black pepper It

was highly priced during the Roman Empirendash about three times the price of black

pepper With its pungent and sweet taste at the same time it was perfect for Roman

cooking especially fond for these two sensations In our days long pepper is nearly

unknown and sometimes hard to obtain

13 DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCT

131 BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

From the numerous different species of piper known in Africa areas four are

found in Ethiopia Pumbellatum Pguineense Pnigrum and Pcapense

Embranchement SpermaphytesSous embranchement AngiospermesClasse MagnolopsidesSous classe MagnoliidaeOrdre PiperalesFamille PiperaceaeGenre PiperEpithete speacutecifique Capense

Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998)

4

Pcapense Lf (1781)

- type South Africa Thunbergsn

Shrubby herb 1-2m high possibly sometimes subscandent base semi-woody much

branched above stems glabrous Leaf petiole 2-6 cm long leaf-blade broadly ovate

(7-) 95-155 x (6-)8-145cm base

cordate upper leaves sometimes

obliquely truncate (to cuneate

outside Flora area) tip acuminate 7-

9 veined from base hairy at least on

veins below stipule 15-2 cm long

Spikes solitary leaf-opposed

peduncle up to 3 cm long rachis

shorter at anthesis 25-3 cm long in

fruit covered with white ovate

bracts when young Flowers only

slightly protandrous stamens with

anthers about as long as filaments

stigma on distinct style 2- lobed

Drupe sessilee globose c 4 mm in

diameter translucent greenish white very fleshy endocarp compressed c 2x2 mm

smooth reddish-brown (Edwards S amp al2000)

Fruits are made by little white closed berries of 8 cm These berries turn to light green

when it is harvest time On average farmers can gather from 2 to 4 kg of fresh fruit per

tree

According to farmers there are female and male timiz but there is no relation with the

reproduction of the specie dioiumlque

The female timiz is smaller and fatter When it is dried it gives a better fruit than the

male one which is taller but thiner

5

Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)

132 CHEMICAL DESCRIPTION

Pcapense contains less essential oil than its relatives (about 1)

The essential oils from Piper capense from S Tomeacute e Priacutencipe were investigated They

were analysed by GC GC-mass spectrometry and 13C NMR Monoterpene

hydrocarbons were the main group of constituents in the sample of P capense β-

Pinene (325) and β-caryophyllene (126) were the major compounds in the volatile

oil of P capense The oil was found to be rich in hydrocarbons (gt58)

Since terpene components are missing in its aroma long pepper cannot be substituted by

ordinary black pepper Information found in ldquoEssentials oils from four Piper speciesrdquo

(MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000)

6

Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)

Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)

14 QUALITY AND ORIGIN SEEN BY THE VALUE-CHAIN ACTORS

In this paragraph quality is described according to actors of the value chain

These actors will be presented in details in part 6

Timiz is one of the three species of earrsquos pepper ( Piperaceae) found in Ethiopia In the

Bongas rain forest we can find the piper capense which is actively picked and also the

piper umbellatum L which comes from South America but it is not locally consumed

The third spice is the piper longum L which comes from India It is an importationrsquos

product and can be easily found in market(Roussel B Verdeaux F2003)

141 QUALITY CONCERNS

According to the International Standard (Spices and condiments-Botanical

nomenclature) Reference number ISO 6762002 (EF) there is no international norm

which gives specifications on the quality of this product

Botanical Name Family Common name of the spice in English

Common name of the spice in French

Name of the part used as spice

Piper Capensis Piperaceae Long pepper Poivre long Fruit

Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000)

The Ethiopian Standard is based on the International one so there is no specific norm

related to timiz There are standards for black pepper that could be adapted to timiz if it

is required by markets

According to the Ministry of Agriculture there are no certifying organizations in charge

of timizs quality control along the value chain Due to a lack of formal control

institutions the timiz quality is hard to certify

National factories use a little amount of timiz in powder preparation They do not really

care if it is sun dried or smoked they just ask for clean timiz According to them at

7

present time it is very difficult to find clean and without moisture timiz When they

make a reference to the origin of the product most of the time Bonga is the first name

given

Exporters have exported for the first time this year so they did not think about the

quality but for the next year they will prefer to buy the one which has less moisture and

best presentation When they export timiz the reference about the production site is

Ethiopia and Kaffa zone

Housewives prefer to buy the farenji pepper than the abesha pepper because of the lack

of attention given to the product this gathered product is often badly dried and thus

made moldy as well as covered with various residues But price being very high so in

the abesha timiz they prefer the sun-dried one for its smelly taste better presentation

with light brown color than the smoked one black Most of the women does not know

where timiz comes from but some of them refer to Jima

Wholesalers and the broker in Addis Ababa make quality differences First in the way of

drying (smoked or sun dried) and also in the origin They always ask for sun dried timiz

but most of the time they just receive smoked one or mixed one For them a good timiz

must be heavy brown to black without white point which shows moisture Wholesalers

mostly say that the origin of timiz is Bonga Kaffa and also Jima They explain that often

they tell to consumers that it comes from Jima because this town was before the new

political organization the capital of Kaffa area In Bonga area it seems that the timiz

from Wush Wush is less tasty and has a poorer quality that the one from Chiri So they

can buy it 2ETBkg less that the last one but it is not systematic

8

According to wholesalers broker and also small shops in Merkato

Production area CharacteristicsChiri area timiz is little(female) full and fat very

smellyBonga area Timiz is full and fat very smellyWush Wush area Timiz is tall and very dried no good

presentation

Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008)

The difference of quality can be considered as an instrument to differentiate the

product according to its geographical origin As there is no official quality control nor

traceability retailers and consumers need to trust wholesalers for information about

quality and origin

Most of the timiz come from Bonga area but there is a little pond of production in

Dawero near Jima So in Merkato we can sometimes find mixed timiz According to site

productionrsquos wholesalers the different qualities are mixed and transported to Addis in

same bags at same prices They also prefer to buy sun dried kind but most of the time

they have only smoked one They say that they have asked farmers to change their way

of drying to sell timiz at a better price but there were no answers from farmers about

quality changes According to local wholesalers the best quality comes from Chiri

because this town receives timiz from three kebeles who produce the best timiz Agaro

Bushi Boba Muti

Farmers-collectors and urban collectors make

an effort to finish the drying process by sun

drying but most of the time they collect non

well smoked timiz

Farmers know the demand and know that

people prefers sun dried timiz but they

explain that smoking timiz is easier and faster because of climate conditions Also

9

Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)

according to them there is no price difference between smoked and sun dried timiz so

why to use the most difficult way of drying It is possible also to find roasted even if it

is rarely Farmers can use this technique to reduce the drying time to 5h but this way of

drying reduces lots of qualities there is no more aroma and flavor

Prices vary from year to year depending on the amount and quality of products and

demands

142 DEMAND FOR QUALITY

The differences in prices between local good and poor quality as well as farenji

timiz lets think that there is probably different markets One with high quality ( farenji

timiz) for people who can afford the price and an other for poorer people with lower

quality (abesha timiz)

Most wholesalers and retailers do not offer several types of local timiz but they have

ldquoabesha timizrdquo and ldquofarenji timizrdquo at different prices and different quantities Timiz is

sold by grams and not at the unity so people can not choose timiz ears they can just

10

Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)

05

1015202530354045

ETBkg

Good timiz Wickedtimiz

Farenjitimiz

Average ofBongatimiz

Average ofDawerotimiz

check the quality offer in general

Timiz prices are variable according to the season the harvest and the demand which

fluctuate during the year A table is presented in part 6

Consumers have been interviewed at local and national level According to rural

consumers they are aware of qualities differences and urban people are not always able

to make a difference in quality for the abesha timiz The main criteria of purchase in

Addis is the price So urban people who can afford it prefers the farenji timiz because

according to them it is cleaner gives more taste with a smaller quantity But with the

increase of prices a kilo of farenji timiz is between 45 ETB to 90 ETB according to the

place of sale This price is widely above the abesha timiz one which is sold at the same

time from 20ETB to 45ETB

Selling places for individual consumers in all Ethiopian towns are only in market places

( in small shops or street vendors) you can not find timiz in supermarkets There is no

individual packaging like in tea spice or mitmita

Problems mentioned about timiz quality

Problems Fresh harvested fruits

Processing problem Transport and storage problem

Moisture x xLoss of weight x xDirt x xSmall fruits xTaste of fruits x x xHeterogeneity of fruits

x x x

Colour x x

Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008)

Each actor has his criteria and his way of selecting timiz The next table presents the mains criteria checked by actors along the value chain

11

Actors Selection criterionFarmer Fruit is full and fat green to yellow

Farmer-collector Brown heavy with out moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Urban collector Brown heavy without moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Zonal Wholesaler Brown heavy without moisture he

12

Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008)

Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Piper capense is named timiz in Amharic it is means curly as a reference to its

special shape Timiz (Piper Capense) known as long black pepper is an endemic plant of

East Africa found in wet highlands it is produced traditionally for human consumption

and medical use It is also popular in the Islamic regions of North Africa where it has

been introduced by Arab traders Timiz is essentially found in the Bongas coffee forest

of the South West of Ethiopia It is linked to Ethiopian culture in several different

aspects it is gathered in a unique ecosystem transformed in traditional ways and the

fact that it is used in many national disheshellip

1 Several names for one spice

Area Name Others Ethiopians NamesLocal area Turfo Turifo amp turfo (kefinya)Regional area timiz timiz (Amharic)National level timiz Tunjo amp turfo (Orominya)International Long black pepper Tinja (Dawrigna)Botanical Latin Piper capense Tonjo (Tigrinya)

Tableau 1 Several names for one spice (Edwards S amp al2000)

In this report we will speak about two kinds of long black pepper whose

Amharic names have a very similar consonance So to avoid confusion the long black

pepper locally produced (Timiz) will be named laquo abesha timiz raquo and the Indian long

black pepper imported (Temist) ldquofarenji timizrdquo Names given by traders in Addis

Ababas Merkato

2

1 Description and distinctiveness of the product

On Ethiopian markets the main appellation used for the piper capense is timiz

Sometimes a reference to the production site is made ( Bonga area o Dawero area)

Confusion between kororima and timiz is also made because of similar taste Strangely

the timizrsquo volume is not in correspondence with its reputation Indeed the quantity of

timiz produced in Bonga area is around 150T (personal estimation) and it is possible to

find timiz all over the country Perhaps this can be explained by the way timiz is used In

cooking housewives just need a few amount of timiz to have a strong taste so 1kg of

timiz can be enough for one year

11 TIMIZ AND THE INDIAN LONG BLACK PEPPER

The abesha timiz ( produced in Ethiopia) is sometimes referred to the farenji

timiz (Indian long pepper Piper Longum L) which is mostly found in tropical Asia

(India Malaysia Nepal Sri Lanka Vietnam South of China) (Edwards S amp al2000)

Very famous in Indian cooking and Islamic regions is more expensive on the Ethiopian

markets so Ethiopian people prefers to buy timiz Because of very high importationrsquos

3

Illustration 1 Farenji timiz amp Abesha timiz (Avril2008)

taxes farenji timiz is found in markets at very high prices Consequently cheaper

substitutes have been researched and produced One is the piper capense referred to as

timiz It is said to have different flavor and aroma than Indian long pepper The flavor of

timiz is described as less strong in lsquopepper tastersquo but with different aroma

12 EUROPE AND THE LONG BLACK PEPPER Long pepper probably came to Europe before the now dominant black pepper It

was highly priced during the Roman Empirendash about three times the price of black

pepper With its pungent and sweet taste at the same time it was perfect for Roman

cooking especially fond for these two sensations In our days long pepper is nearly

unknown and sometimes hard to obtain

13 DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCT

131 BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

From the numerous different species of piper known in Africa areas four are

found in Ethiopia Pumbellatum Pguineense Pnigrum and Pcapense

Embranchement SpermaphytesSous embranchement AngiospermesClasse MagnolopsidesSous classe MagnoliidaeOrdre PiperalesFamille PiperaceaeGenre PiperEpithete speacutecifique Capense

Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998)

4

Pcapense Lf (1781)

- type South Africa Thunbergsn

Shrubby herb 1-2m high possibly sometimes subscandent base semi-woody much

branched above stems glabrous Leaf petiole 2-6 cm long leaf-blade broadly ovate

(7-) 95-155 x (6-)8-145cm base

cordate upper leaves sometimes

obliquely truncate (to cuneate

outside Flora area) tip acuminate 7-

9 veined from base hairy at least on

veins below stipule 15-2 cm long

Spikes solitary leaf-opposed

peduncle up to 3 cm long rachis

shorter at anthesis 25-3 cm long in

fruit covered with white ovate

bracts when young Flowers only

slightly protandrous stamens with

anthers about as long as filaments

stigma on distinct style 2- lobed

Drupe sessilee globose c 4 mm in

diameter translucent greenish white very fleshy endocarp compressed c 2x2 mm

smooth reddish-brown (Edwards S amp al2000)

Fruits are made by little white closed berries of 8 cm These berries turn to light green

when it is harvest time On average farmers can gather from 2 to 4 kg of fresh fruit per

tree

According to farmers there are female and male timiz but there is no relation with the

reproduction of the specie dioiumlque

The female timiz is smaller and fatter When it is dried it gives a better fruit than the

male one which is taller but thiner

5

Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)

132 CHEMICAL DESCRIPTION

Pcapense contains less essential oil than its relatives (about 1)

The essential oils from Piper capense from S Tomeacute e Priacutencipe were investigated They

were analysed by GC GC-mass spectrometry and 13C NMR Monoterpene

hydrocarbons were the main group of constituents in the sample of P capense β-

Pinene (325) and β-caryophyllene (126) were the major compounds in the volatile

oil of P capense The oil was found to be rich in hydrocarbons (gt58)

Since terpene components are missing in its aroma long pepper cannot be substituted by

ordinary black pepper Information found in ldquoEssentials oils from four Piper speciesrdquo

(MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000)

6

Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)

Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)

14 QUALITY AND ORIGIN SEEN BY THE VALUE-CHAIN ACTORS

In this paragraph quality is described according to actors of the value chain

These actors will be presented in details in part 6

Timiz is one of the three species of earrsquos pepper ( Piperaceae) found in Ethiopia In the

Bongas rain forest we can find the piper capense which is actively picked and also the

piper umbellatum L which comes from South America but it is not locally consumed

The third spice is the piper longum L which comes from India It is an importationrsquos

product and can be easily found in market(Roussel B Verdeaux F2003)

141 QUALITY CONCERNS

According to the International Standard (Spices and condiments-Botanical

nomenclature) Reference number ISO 6762002 (EF) there is no international norm

which gives specifications on the quality of this product

Botanical Name Family Common name of the spice in English

Common name of the spice in French

Name of the part used as spice

Piper Capensis Piperaceae Long pepper Poivre long Fruit

Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000)

The Ethiopian Standard is based on the International one so there is no specific norm

related to timiz There are standards for black pepper that could be adapted to timiz if it

is required by markets

According to the Ministry of Agriculture there are no certifying organizations in charge

of timizs quality control along the value chain Due to a lack of formal control

institutions the timiz quality is hard to certify

National factories use a little amount of timiz in powder preparation They do not really

care if it is sun dried or smoked they just ask for clean timiz According to them at

7

present time it is very difficult to find clean and without moisture timiz When they

make a reference to the origin of the product most of the time Bonga is the first name

given

Exporters have exported for the first time this year so they did not think about the

quality but for the next year they will prefer to buy the one which has less moisture and

best presentation When they export timiz the reference about the production site is

Ethiopia and Kaffa zone

Housewives prefer to buy the farenji pepper than the abesha pepper because of the lack

of attention given to the product this gathered product is often badly dried and thus

made moldy as well as covered with various residues But price being very high so in

the abesha timiz they prefer the sun-dried one for its smelly taste better presentation

with light brown color than the smoked one black Most of the women does not know

where timiz comes from but some of them refer to Jima

Wholesalers and the broker in Addis Ababa make quality differences First in the way of

drying (smoked or sun dried) and also in the origin They always ask for sun dried timiz

but most of the time they just receive smoked one or mixed one For them a good timiz

must be heavy brown to black without white point which shows moisture Wholesalers

mostly say that the origin of timiz is Bonga Kaffa and also Jima They explain that often

they tell to consumers that it comes from Jima because this town was before the new

political organization the capital of Kaffa area In Bonga area it seems that the timiz

from Wush Wush is less tasty and has a poorer quality that the one from Chiri So they

can buy it 2ETBkg less that the last one but it is not systematic

8

According to wholesalers broker and also small shops in Merkato

Production area CharacteristicsChiri area timiz is little(female) full and fat very

smellyBonga area Timiz is full and fat very smellyWush Wush area Timiz is tall and very dried no good

presentation

Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008)

The difference of quality can be considered as an instrument to differentiate the

product according to its geographical origin As there is no official quality control nor

traceability retailers and consumers need to trust wholesalers for information about

quality and origin

Most of the timiz come from Bonga area but there is a little pond of production in

Dawero near Jima So in Merkato we can sometimes find mixed timiz According to site

productionrsquos wholesalers the different qualities are mixed and transported to Addis in

same bags at same prices They also prefer to buy sun dried kind but most of the time

they have only smoked one They say that they have asked farmers to change their way

of drying to sell timiz at a better price but there were no answers from farmers about

quality changes According to local wholesalers the best quality comes from Chiri

because this town receives timiz from three kebeles who produce the best timiz Agaro

Bushi Boba Muti

Farmers-collectors and urban collectors make

an effort to finish the drying process by sun

drying but most of the time they collect non

well smoked timiz

Farmers know the demand and know that

people prefers sun dried timiz but they

explain that smoking timiz is easier and faster because of climate conditions Also

9

Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)

according to them there is no price difference between smoked and sun dried timiz so

why to use the most difficult way of drying It is possible also to find roasted even if it

is rarely Farmers can use this technique to reduce the drying time to 5h but this way of

drying reduces lots of qualities there is no more aroma and flavor

Prices vary from year to year depending on the amount and quality of products and

demands

142 DEMAND FOR QUALITY

The differences in prices between local good and poor quality as well as farenji

timiz lets think that there is probably different markets One with high quality ( farenji

timiz) for people who can afford the price and an other for poorer people with lower

quality (abesha timiz)

Most wholesalers and retailers do not offer several types of local timiz but they have

ldquoabesha timizrdquo and ldquofarenji timizrdquo at different prices and different quantities Timiz is

sold by grams and not at the unity so people can not choose timiz ears they can just

10

Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)

05

1015202530354045

ETBkg

Good timiz Wickedtimiz

Farenjitimiz

Average ofBongatimiz

Average ofDawerotimiz

check the quality offer in general

Timiz prices are variable according to the season the harvest and the demand which

fluctuate during the year A table is presented in part 6

Consumers have been interviewed at local and national level According to rural

consumers they are aware of qualities differences and urban people are not always able

to make a difference in quality for the abesha timiz The main criteria of purchase in

Addis is the price So urban people who can afford it prefers the farenji timiz because

according to them it is cleaner gives more taste with a smaller quantity But with the

increase of prices a kilo of farenji timiz is between 45 ETB to 90 ETB according to the

place of sale This price is widely above the abesha timiz one which is sold at the same

time from 20ETB to 45ETB

Selling places for individual consumers in all Ethiopian towns are only in market places

( in small shops or street vendors) you can not find timiz in supermarkets There is no

individual packaging like in tea spice or mitmita

Problems mentioned about timiz quality

Problems Fresh harvested fruits

Processing problem Transport and storage problem

Moisture x xLoss of weight x xDirt x xSmall fruits xTaste of fruits x x xHeterogeneity of fruits

x x x

Colour x x

Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008)

Each actor has his criteria and his way of selecting timiz The next table presents the mains criteria checked by actors along the value chain

11

Actors Selection criterionFarmer Fruit is full and fat green to yellow

Farmer-collector Brown heavy with out moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Urban collector Brown heavy without moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Zonal Wholesaler Brown heavy without moisture he

12

Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008)

Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

1 Description and distinctiveness of the product

On Ethiopian markets the main appellation used for the piper capense is timiz

Sometimes a reference to the production site is made ( Bonga area o Dawero area)

Confusion between kororima and timiz is also made because of similar taste Strangely

the timizrsquo volume is not in correspondence with its reputation Indeed the quantity of

timiz produced in Bonga area is around 150T (personal estimation) and it is possible to

find timiz all over the country Perhaps this can be explained by the way timiz is used In

cooking housewives just need a few amount of timiz to have a strong taste so 1kg of

timiz can be enough for one year

11 TIMIZ AND THE INDIAN LONG BLACK PEPPER

The abesha timiz ( produced in Ethiopia) is sometimes referred to the farenji

timiz (Indian long pepper Piper Longum L) which is mostly found in tropical Asia

(India Malaysia Nepal Sri Lanka Vietnam South of China) (Edwards S amp al2000)

Very famous in Indian cooking and Islamic regions is more expensive on the Ethiopian

markets so Ethiopian people prefers to buy timiz Because of very high importationrsquos

3

Illustration 1 Farenji timiz amp Abesha timiz (Avril2008)

taxes farenji timiz is found in markets at very high prices Consequently cheaper

substitutes have been researched and produced One is the piper capense referred to as

timiz It is said to have different flavor and aroma than Indian long pepper The flavor of

timiz is described as less strong in lsquopepper tastersquo but with different aroma

12 EUROPE AND THE LONG BLACK PEPPER Long pepper probably came to Europe before the now dominant black pepper It

was highly priced during the Roman Empirendash about three times the price of black

pepper With its pungent and sweet taste at the same time it was perfect for Roman

cooking especially fond for these two sensations In our days long pepper is nearly

unknown and sometimes hard to obtain

13 DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCT

131 BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

From the numerous different species of piper known in Africa areas four are

found in Ethiopia Pumbellatum Pguineense Pnigrum and Pcapense

Embranchement SpermaphytesSous embranchement AngiospermesClasse MagnolopsidesSous classe MagnoliidaeOrdre PiperalesFamille PiperaceaeGenre PiperEpithete speacutecifique Capense

Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998)

4

Pcapense Lf (1781)

- type South Africa Thunbergsn

Shrubby herb 1-2m high possibly sometimes subscandent base semi-woody much

branched above stems glabrous Leaf petiole 2-6 cm long leaf-blade broadly ovate

(7-) 95-155 x (6-)8-145cm base

cordate upper leaves sometimes

obliquely truncate (to cuneate

outside Flora area) tip acuminate 7-

9 veined from base hairy at least on

veins below stipule 15-2 cm long

Spikes solitary leaf-opposed

peduncle up to 3 cm long rachis

shorter at anthesis 25-3 cm long in

fruit covered with white ovate

bracts when young Flowers only

slightly protandrous stamens with

anthers about as long as filaments

stigma on distinct style 2- lobed

Drupe sessilee globose c 4 mm in

diameter translucent greenish white very fleshy endocarp compressed c 2x2 mm

smooth reddish-brown (Edwards S amp al2000)

Fruits are made by little white closed berries of 8 cm These berries turn to light green

when it is harvest time On average farmers can gather from 2 to 4 kg of fresh fruit per

tree

According to farmers there are female and male timiz but there is no relation with the

reproduction of the specie dioiumlque

The female timiz is smaller and fatter When it is dried it gives a better fruit than the

male one which is taller but thiner

5

Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)

132 CHEMICAL DESCRIPTION

Pcapense contains less essential oil than its relatives (about 1)

The essential oils from Piper capense from S Tomeacute e Priacutencipe were investigated They

were analysed by GC GC-mass spectrometry and 13C NMR Monoterpene

hydrocarbons were the main group of constituents in the sample of P capense β-

Pinene (325) and β-caryophyllene (126) were the major compounds in the volatile

oil of P capense The oil was found to be rich in hydrocarbons (gt58)

Since terpene components are missing in its aroma long pepper cannot be substituted by

ordinary black pepper Information found in ldquoEssentials oils from four Piper speciesrdquo

(MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000)

6

Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)

Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)

14 QUALITY AND ORIGIN SEEN BY THE VALUE-CHAIN ACTORS

In this paragraph quality is described according to actors of the value chain

These actors will be presented in details in part 6

Timiz is one of the three species of earrsquos pepper ( Piperaceae) found in Ethiopia In the

Bongas rain forest we can find the piper capense which is actively picked and also the

piper umbellatum L which comes from South America but it is not locally consumed

The third spice is the piper longum L which comes from India It is an importationrsquos

product and can be easily found in market(Roussel B Verdeaux F2003)

141 QUALITY CONCERNS

According to the International Standard (Spices and condiments-Botanical

nomenclature) Reference number ISO 6762002 (EF) there is no international norm

which gives specifications on the quality of this product

Botanical Name Family Common name of the spice in English

Common name of the spice in French

Name of the part used as spice

Piper Capensis Piperaceae Long pepper Poivre long Fruit

Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000)

The Ethiopian Standard is based on the International one so there is no specific norm

related to timiz There are standards for black pepper that could be adapted to timiz if it

is required by markets

According to the Ministry of Agriculture there are no certifying organizations in charge

of timizs quality control along the value chain Due to a lack of formal control

institutions the timiz quality is hard to certify

National factories use a little amount of timiz in powder preparation They do not really

care if it is sun dried or smoked they just ask for clean timiz According to them at

7

present time it is very difficult to find clean and without moisture timiz When they

make a reference to the origin of the product most of the time Bonga is the first name

given

Exporters have exported for the first time this year so they did not think about the

quality but for the next year they will prefer to buy the one which has less moisture and

best presentation When they export timiz the reference about the production site is

Ethiopia and Kaffa zone

Housewives prefer to buy the farenji pepper than the abesha pepper because of the lack

of attention given to the product this gathered product is often badly dried and thus

made moldy as well as covered with various residues But price being very high so in

the abesha timiz they prefer the sun-dried one for its smelly taste better presentation

with light brown color than the smoked one black Most of the women does not know

where timiz comes from but some of them refer to Jima

Wholesalers and the broker in Addis Ababa make quality differences First in the way of

drying (smoked or sun dried) and also in the origin They always ask for sun dried timiz

but most of the time they just receive smoked one or mixed one For them a good timiz

must be heavy brown to black without white point which shows moisture Wholesalers

mostly say that the origin of timiz is Bonga Kaffa and also Jima They explain that often

they tell to consumers that it comes from Jima because this town was before the new

political organization the capital of Kaffa area In Bonga area it seems that the timiz

from Wush Wush is less tasty and has a poorer quality that the one from Chiri So they

can buy it 2ETBkg less that the last one but it is not systematic

8

According to wholesalers broker and also small shops in Merkato

Production area CharacteristicsChiri area timiz is little(female) full and fat very

smellyBonga area Timiz is full and fat very smellyWush Wush area Timiz is tall and very dried no good

presentation

Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008)

The difference of quality can be considered as an instrument to differentiate the

product according to its geographical origin As there is no official quality control nor

traceability retailers and consumers need to trust wholesalers for information about

quality and origin

Most of the timiz come from Bonga area but there is a little pond of production in

Dawero near Jima So in Merkato we can sometimes find mixed timiz According to site

productionrsquos wholesalers the different qualities are mixed and transported to Addis in

same bags at same prices They also prefer to buy sun dried kind but most of the time

they have only smoked one They say that they have asked farmers to change their way

of drying to sell timiz at a better price but there were no answers from farmers about

quality changes According to local wholesalers the best quality comes from Chiri

because this town receives timiz from three kebeles who produce the best timiz Agaro

Bushi Boba Muti

Farmers-collectors and urban collectors make

an effort to finish the drying process by sun

drying but most of the time they collect non

well smoked timiz

Farmers know the demand and know that

people prefers sun dried timiz but they

explain that smoking timiz is easier and faster because of climate conditions Also

9

Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)

according to them there is no price difference between smoked and sun dried timiz so

why to use the most difficult way of drying It is possible also to find roasted even if it

is rarely Farmers can use this technique to reduce the drying time to 5h but this way of

drying reduces lots of qualities there is no more aroma and flavor

Prices vary from year to year depending on the amount and quality of products and

demands

142 DEMAND FOR QUALITY

The differences in prices between local good and poor quality as well as farenji

timiz lets think that there is probably different markets One with high quality ( farenji

timiz) for people who can afford the price and an other for poorer people with lower

quality (abesha timiz)

Most wholesalers and retailers do not offer several types of local timiz but they have

ldquoabesha timizrdquo and ldquofarenji timizrdquo at different prices and different quantities Timiz is

sold by grams and not at the unity so people can not choose timiz ears they can just

10

Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)

05

1015202530354045

ETBkg

Good timiz Wickedtimiz

Farenjitimiz

Average ofBongatimiz

Average ofDawerotimiz

check the quality offer in general

Timiz prices are variable according to the season the harvest and the demand which

fluctuate during the year A table is presented in part 6

Consumers have been interviewed at local and national level According to rural

consumers they are aware of qualities differences and urban people are not always able

to make a difference in quality for the abesha timiz The main criteria of purchase in

Addis is the price So urban people who can afford it prefers the farenji timiz because

according to them it is cleaner gives more taste with a smaller quantity But with the

increase of prices a kilo of farenji timiz is between 45 ETB to 90 ETB according to the

place of sale This price is widely above the abesha timiz one which is sold at the same

time from 20ETB to 45ETB

Selling places for individual consumers in all Ethiopian towns are only in market places

( in small shops or street vendors) you can not find timiz in supermarkets There is no

individual packaging like in tea spice or mitmita

Problems mentioned about timiz quality

Problems Fresh harvested fruits

Processing problem Transport and storage problem

Moisture x xLoss of weight x xDirt x xSmall fruits xTaste of fruits x x xHeterogeneity of fruits

x x x

Colour x x

Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008)

Each actor has his criteria and his way of selecting timiz The next table presents the mains criteria checked by actors along the value chain

11

Actors Selection criterionFarmer Fruit is full and fat green to yellow

Farmer-collector Brown heavy with out moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Urban collector Brown heavy without moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Zonal Wholesaler Brown heavy without moisture he

12

Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008)

Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

taxes farenji timiz is found in markets at very high prices Consequently cheaper

substitutes have been researched and produced One is the piper capense referred to as

timiz It is said to have different flavor and aroma than Indian long pepper The flavor of

timiz is described as less strong in lsquopepper tastersquo but with different aroma

12 EUROPE AND THE LONG BLACK PEPPER Long pepper probably came to Europe before the now dominant black pepper It

was highly priced during the Roman Empirendash about three times the price of black

pepper With its pungent and sweet taste at the same time it was perfect for Roman

cooking especially fond for these two sensations In our days long pepper is nearly

unknown and sometimes hard to obtain

13 DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCT

131 BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

From the numerous different species of piper known in Africa areas four are

found in Ethiopia Pumbellatum Pguineense Pnigrum and Pcapense

Embranchement SpermaphytesSous embranchement AngiospermesClasse MagnolopsidesSous classe MagnoliidaeOrdre PiperalesFamille PiperaceaeGenre PiperEpithete speacutecifique Capense

Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998)

4

Pcapense Lf (1781)

- type South Africa Thunbergsn

Shrubby herb 1-2m high possibly sometimes subscandent base semi-woody much

branched above stems glabrous Leaf petiole 2-6 cm long leaf-blade broadly ovate

(7-) 95-155 x (6-)8-145cm base

cordate upper leaves sometimes

obliquely truncate (to cuneate

outside Flora area) tip acuminate 7-

9 veined from base hairy at least on

veins below stipule 15-2 cm long

Spikes solitary leaf-opposed

peduncle up to 3 cm long rachis

shorter at anthesis 25-3 cm long in

fruit covered with white ovate

bracts when young Flowers only

slightly protandrous stamens with

anthers about as long as filaments

stigma on distinct style 2- lobed

Drupe sessilee globose c 4 mm in

diameter translucent greenish white very fleshy endocarp compressed c 2x2 mm

smooth reddish-brown (Edwards S amp al2000)

Fruits are made by little white closed berries of 8 cm These berries turn to light green

when it is harvest time On average farmers can gather from 2 to 4 kg of fresh fruit per

tree

According to farmers there are female and male timiz but there is no relation with the

reproduction of the specie dioiumlque

The female timiz is smaller and fatter When it is dried it gives a better fruit than the

male one which is taller but thiner

5

Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)

132 CHEMICAL DESCRIPTION

Pcapense contains less essential oil than its relatives (about 1)

The essential oils from Piper capense from S Tomeacute e Priacutencipe were investigated They

were analysed by GC GC-mass spectrometry and 13C NMR Monoterpene

hydrocarbons were the main group of constituents in the sample of P capense β-

Pinene (325) and β-caryophyllene (126) were the major compounds in the volatile

oil of P capense The oil was found to be rich in hydrocarbons (gt58)

Since terpene components are missing in its aroma long pepper cannot be substituted by

ordinary black pepper Information found in ldquoEssentials oils from four Piper speciesrdquo

(MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000)

6

Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)

Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)

14 QUALITY AND ORIGIN SEEN BY THE VALUE-CHAIN ACTORS

In this paragraph quality is described according to actors of the value chain

These actors will be presented in details in part 6

Timiz is one of the three species of earrsquos pepper ( Piperaceae) found in Ethiopia In the

Bongas rain forest we can find the piper capense which is actively picked and also the

piper umbellatum L which comes from South America but it is not locally consumed

The third spice is the piper longum L which comes from India It is an importationrsquos

product and can be easily found in market(Roussel B Verdeaux F2003)

141 QUALITY CONCERNS

According to the International Standard (Spices and condiments-Botanical

nomenclature) Reference number ISO 6762002 (EF) there is no international norm

which gives specifications on the quality of this product

Botanical Name Family Common name of the spice in English

Common name of the spice in French

Name of the part used as spice

Piper Capensis Piperaceae Long pepper Poivre long Fruit

Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000)

The Ethiopian Standard is based on the International one so there is no specific norm

related to timiz There are standards for black pepper that could be adapted to timiz if it

is required by markets

According to the Ministry of Agriculture there are no certifying organizations in charge

of timizs quality control along the value chain Due to a lack of formal control

institutions the timiz quality is hard to certify

National factories use a little amount of timiz in powder preparation They do not really

care if it is sun dried or smoked they just ask for clean timiz According to them at

7

present time it is very difficult to find clean and without moisture timiz When they

make a reference to the origin of the product most of the time Bonga is the first name

given

Exporters have exported for the first time this year so they did not think about the

quality but for the next year they will prefer to buy the one which has less moisture and

best presentation When they export timiz the reference about the production site is

Ethiopia and Kaffa zone

Housewives prefer to buy the farenji pepper than the abesha pepper because of the lack

of attention given to the product this gathered product is often badly dried and thus

made moldy as well as covered with various residues But price being very high so in

the abesha timiz they prefer the sun-dried one for its smelly taste better presentation

with light brown color than the smoked one black Most of the women does not know

where timiz comes from but some of them refer to Jima

Wholesalers and the broker in Addis Ababa make quality differences First in the way of

drying (smoked or sun dried) and also in the origin They always ask for sun dried timiz

but most of the time they just receive smoked one or mixed one For them a good timiz

must be heavy brown to black without white point which shows moisture Wholesalers

mostly say that the origin of timiz is Bonga Kaffa and also Jima They explain that often

they tell to consumers that it comes from Jima because this town was before the new

political organization the capital of Kaffa area In Bonga area it seems that the timiz

from Wush Wush is less tasty and has a poorer quality that the one from Chiri So they

can buy it 2ETBkg less that the last one but it is not systematic

8

According to wholesalers broker and also small shops in Merkato

Production area CharacteristicsChiri area timiz is little(female) full and fat very

smellyBonga area Timiz is full and fat very smellyWush Wush area Timiz is tall and very dried no good

presentation

Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008)

The difference of quality can be considered as an instrument to differentiate the

product according to its geographical origin As there is no official quality control nor

traceability retailers and consumers need to trust wholesalers for information about

quality and origin

Most of the timiz come from Bonga area but there is a little pond of production in

Dawero near Jima So in Merkato we can sometimes find mixed timiz According to site

productionrsquos wholesalers the different qualities are mixed and transported to Addis in

same bags at same prices They also prefer to buy sun dried kind but most of the time

they have only smoked one They say that they have asked farmers to change their way

of drying to sell timiz at a better price but there were no answers from farmers about

quality changes According to local wholesalers the best quality comes from Chiri

because this town receives timiz from three kebeles who produce the best timiz Agaro

Bushi Boba Muti

Farmers-collectors and urban collectors make

an effort to finish the drying process by sun

drying but most of the time they collect non

well smoked timiz

Farmers know the demand and know that

people prefers sun dried timiz but they

explain that smoking timiz is easier and faster because of climate conditions Also

9

Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)

according to them there is no price difference between smoked and sun dried timiz so

why to use the most difficult way of drying It is possible also to find roasted even if it

is rarely Farmers can use this technique to reduce the drying time to 5h but this way of

drying reduces lots of qualities there is no more aroma and flavor

Prices vary from year to year depending on the amount and quality of products and

demands

142 DEMAND FOR QUALITY

The differences in prices between local good and poor quality as well as farenji

timiz lets think that there is probably different markets One with high quality ( farenji

timiz) for people who can afford the price and an other for poorer people with lower

quality (abesha timiz)

Most wholesalers and retailers do not offer several types of local timiz but they have

ldquoabesha timizrdquo and ldquofarenji timizrdquo at different prices and different quantities Timiz is

sold by grams and not at the unity so people can not choose timiz ears they can just

10

Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)

05

1015202530354045

ETBkg

Good timiz Wickedtimiz

Farenjitimiz

Average ofBongatimiz

Average ofDawerotimiz

check the quality offer in general

Timiz prices are variable according to the season the harvest and the demand which

fluctuate during the year A table is presented in part 6

Consumers have been interviewed at local and national level According to rural

consumers they are aware of qualities differences and urban people are not always able

to make a difference in quality for the abesha timiz The main criteria of purchase in

Addis is the price So urban people who can afford it prefers the farenji timiz because

according to them it is cleaner gives more taste with a smaller quantity But with the

increase of prices a kilo of farenji timiz is between 45 ETB to 90 ETB according to the

place of sale This price is widely above the abesha timiz one which is sold at the same

time from 20ETB to 45ETB

Selling places for individual consumers in all Ethiopian towns are only in market places

( in small shops or street vendors) you can not find timiz in supermarkets There is no

individual packaging like in tea spice or mitmita

Problems mentioned about timiz quality

Problems Fresh harvested fruits

Processing problem Transport and storage problem

Moisture x xLoss of weight x xDirt x xSmall fruits xTaste of fruits x x xHeterogeneity of fruits

x x x

Colour x x

Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008)

Each actor has his criteria and his way of selecting timiz The next table presents the mains criteria checked by actors along the value chain

11

Actors Selection criterionFarmer Fruit is full and fat green to yellow

Farmer-collector Brown heavy with out moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Urban collector Brown heavy without moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Zonal Wholesaler Brown heavy without moisture he

12

Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008)

Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Pcapense Lf (1781)

- type South Africa Thunbergsn

Shrubby herb 1-2m high possibly sometimes subscandent base semi-woody much

branched above stems glabrous Leaf petiole 2-6 cm long leaf-blade broadly ovate

(7-) 95-155 x (6-)8-145cm base

cordate upper leaves sometimes

obliquely truncate (to cuneate

outside Flora area) tip acuminate 7-

9 veined from base hairy at least on

veins below stipule 15-2 cm long

Spikes solitary leaf-opposed

peduncle up to 3 cm long rachis

shorter at anthesis 25-3 cm long in

fruit covered with white ovate

bracts when young Flowers only

slightly protandrous stamens with

anthers about as long as filaments

stigma on distinct style 2- lobed

Drupe sessilee globose c 4 mm in

diameter translucent greenish white very fleshy endocarp compressed c 2x2 mm

smooth reddish-brown (Edwards S amp al2000)

Fruits are made by little white closed berries of 8 cm These berries turn to light green

when it is harvest time On average farmers can gather from 2 to 4 kg of fresh fruit per

tree

According to farmers there are female and male timiz but there is no relation with the

reproduction of the specie dioiumlque

The female timiz is smaller and fatter When it is dried it gives a better fruit than the

male one which is taller but thiner

5

Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)

132 CHEMICAL DESCRIPTION

Pcapense contains less essential oil than its relatives (about 1)

The essential oils from Piper capense from S Tomeacute e Priacutencipe were investigated They

were analysed by GC GC-mass spectrometry and 13C NMR Monoterpene

hydrocarbons were the main group of constituents in the sample of P capense β-

Pinene (325) and β-caryophyllene (126) were the major compounds in the volatile

oil of P capense The oil was found to be rich in hydrocarbons (gt58)

Since terpene components are missing in its aroma long pepper cannot be substituted by

ordinary black pepper Information found in ldquoEssentials oils from four Piper speciesrdquo

(MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000)

6

Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)

Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)

14 QUALITY AND ORIGIN SEEN BY THE VALUE-CHAIN ACTORS

In this paragraph quality is described according to actors of the value chain

These actors will be presented in details in part 6

Timiz is one of the three species of earrsquos pepper ( Piperaceae) found in Ethiopia In the

Bongas rain forest we can find the piper capense which is actively picked and also the

piper umbellatum L which comes from South America but it is not locally consumed

The third spice is the piper longum L which comes from India It is an importationrsquos

product and can be easily found in market(Roussel B Verdeaux F2003)

141 QUALITY CONCERNS

According to the International Standard (Spices and condiments-Botanical

nomenclature) Reference number ISO 6762002 (EF) there is no international norm

which gives specifications on the quality of this product

Botanical Name Family Common name of the spice in English

Common name of the spice in French

Name of the part used as spice

Piper Capensis Piperaceae Long pepper Poivre long Fruit

Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000)

The Ethiopian Standard is based on the International one so there is no specific norm

related to timiz There are standards for black pepper that could be adapted to timiz if it

is required by markets

According to the Ministry of Agriculture there are no certifying organizations in charge

of timizs quality control along the value chain Due to a lack of formal control

institutions the timiz quality is hard to certify

National factories use a little amount of timiz in powder preparation They do not really

care if it is sun dried or smoked they just ask for clean timiz According to them at

7

present time it is very difficult to find clean and without moisture timiz When they

make a reference to the origin of the product most of the time Bonga is the first name

given

Exporters have exported for the first time this year so they did not think about the

quality but for the next year they will prefer to buy the one which has less moisture and

best presentation When they export timiz the reference about the production site is

Ethiopia and Kaffa zone

Housewives prefer to buy the farenji pepper than the abesha pepper because of the lack

of attention given to the product this gathered product is often badly dried and thus

made moldy as well as covered with various residues But price being very high so in

the abesha timiz they prefer the sun-dried one for its smelly taste better presentation

with light brown color than the smoked one black Most of the women does not know

where timiz comes from but some of them refer to Jima

Wholesalers and the broker in Addis Ababa make quality differences First in the way of

drying (smoked or sun dried) and also in the origin They always ask for sun dried timiz

but most of the time they just receive smoked one or mixed one For them a good timiz

must be heavy brown to black without white point which shows moisture Wholesalers

mostly say that the origin of timiz is Bonga Kaffa and also Jima They explain that often

they tell to consumers that it comes from Jima because this town was before the new

political organization the capital of Kaffa area In Bonga area it seems that the timiz

from Wush Wush is less tasty and has a poorer quality that the one from Chiri So they

can buy it 2ETBkg less that the last one but it is not systematic

8

According to wholesalers broker and also small shops in Merkato

Production area CharacteristicsChiri area timiz is little(female) full and fat very

smellyBonga area Timiz is full and fat very smellyWush Wush area Timiz is tall and very dried no good

presentation

Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008)

The difference of quality can be considered as an instrument to differentiate the

product according to its geographical origin As there is no official quality control nor

traceability retailers and consumers need to trust wholesalers for information about

quality and origin

Most of the timiz come from Bonga area but there is a little pond of production in

Dawero near Jima So in Merkato we can sometimes find mixed timiz According to site

productionrsquos wholesalers the different qualities are mixed and transported to Addis in

same bags at same prices They also prefer to buy sun dried kind but most of the time

they have only smoked one They say that they have asked farmers to change their way

of drying to sell timiz at a better price but there were no answers from farmers about

quality changes According to local wholesalers the best quality comes from Chiri

because this town receives timiz from three kebeles who produce the best timiz Agaro

Bushi Boba Muti

Farmers-collectors and urban collectors make

an effort to finish the drying process by sun

drying but most of the time they collect non

well smoked timiz

Farmers know the demand and know that

people prefers sun dried timiz but they

explain that smoking timiz is easier and faster because of climate conditions Also

9

Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)

according to them there is no price difference between smoked and sun dried timiz so

why to use the most difficult way of drying It is possible also to find roasted even if it

is rarely Farmers can use this technique to reduce the drying time to 5h but this way of

drying reduces lots of qualities there is no more aroma and flavor

Prices vary from year to year depending on the amount and quality of products and

demands

142 DEMAND FOR QUALITY

The differences in prices between local good and poor quality as well as farenji

timiz lets think that there is probably different markets One with high quality ( farenji

timiz) for people who can afford the price and an other for poorer people with lower

quality (abesha timiz)

Most wholesalers and retailers do not offer several types of local timiz but they have

ldquoabesha timizrdquo and ldquofarenji timizrdquo at different prices and different quantities Timiz is

sold by grams and not at the unity so people can not choose timiz ears they can just

10

Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)

05

1015202530354045

ETBkg

Good timiz Wickedtimiz

Farenjitimiz

Average ofBongatimiz

Average ofDawerotimiz

check the quality offer in general

Timiz prices are variable according to the season the harvest and the demand which

fluctuate during the year A table is presented in part 6

Consumers have been interviewed at local and national level According to rural

consumers they are aware of qualities differences and urban people are not always able

to make a difference in quality for the abesha timiz The main criteria of purchase in

Addis is the price So urban people who can afford it prefers the farenji timiz because

according to them it is cleaner gives more taste with a smaller quantity But with the

increase of prices a kilo of farenji timiz is between 45 ETB to 90 ETB according to the

place of sale This price is widely above the abesha timiz one which is sold at the same

time from 20ETB to 45ETB

Selling places for individual consumers in all Ethiopian towns are only in market places

( in small shops or street vendors) you can not find timiz in supermarkets There is no

individual packaging like in tea spice or mitmita

Problems mentioned about timiz quality

Problems Fresh harvested fruits

Processing problem Transport and storage problem

Moisture x xLoss of weight x xDirt x xSmall fruits xTaste of fruits x x xHeterogeneity of fruits

x x x

Colour x x

Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008)

Each actor has his criteria and his way of selecting timiz The next table presents the mains criteria checked by actors along the value chain

11

Actors Selection criterionFarmer Fruit is full and fat green to yellow

Farmer-collector Brown heavy with out moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Urban collector Brown heavy without moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Zonal Wholesaler Brown heavy without moisture he

12

Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008)

Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

132 CHEMICAL DESCRIPTION

Pcapense contains less essential oil than its relatives (about 1)

The essential oils from Piper capense from S Tomeacute e Priacutencipe were investigated They

were analysed by GC GC-mass spectrometry and 13C NMR Monoterpene

hydrocarbons were the main group of constituents in the sample of P capense β-

Pinene (325) and β-caryophyllene (126) were the major compounds in the volatile

oil of P capense The oil was found to be rich in hydrocarbons (gt58)

Since terpene components are missing in its aroma long pepper cannot be substituted by

ordinary black pepper Information found in ldquoEssentials oils from four Piper speciesrdquo

(MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000)

6

Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)

Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)

14 QUALITY AND ORIGIN SEEN BY THE VALUE-CHAIN ACTORS

In this paragraph quality is described according to actors of the value chain

These actors will be presented in details in part 6

Timiz is one of the three species of earrsquos pepper ( Piperaceae) found in Ethiopia In the

Bongas rain forest we can find the piper capense which is actively picked and also the

piper umbellatum L which comes from South America but it is not locally consumed

The third spice is the piper longum L which comes from India It is an importationrsquos

product and can be easily found in market(Roussel B Verdeaux F2003)

141 QUALITY CONCERNS

According to the International Standard (Spices and condiments-Botanical

nomenclature) Reference number ISO 6762002 (EF) there is no international norm

which gives specifications on the quality of this product

Botanical Name Family Common name of the spice in English

Common name of the spice in French

Name of the part used as spice

Piper Capensis Piperaceae Long pepper Poivre long Fruit

Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000)

The Ethiopian Standard is based on the International one so there is no specific norm

related to timiz There are standards for black pepper that could be adapted to timiz if it

is required by markets

According to the Ministry of Agriculture there are no certifying organizations in charge

of timizs quality control along the value chain Due to a lack of formal control

institutions the timiz quality is hard to certify

National factories use a little amount of timiz in powder preparation They do not really

care if it is sun dried or smoked they just ask for clean timiz According to them at

7

present time it is very difficult to find clean and without moisture timiz When they

make a reference to the origin of the product most of the time Bonga is the first name

given

Exporters have exported for the first time this year so they did not think about the

quality but for the next year they will prefer to buy the one which has less moisture and

best presentation When they export timiz the reference about the production site is

Ethiopia and Kaffa zone

Housewives prefer to buy the farenji pepper than the abesha pepper because of the lack

of attention given to the product this gathered product is often badly dried and thus

made moldy as well as covered with various residues But price being very high so in

the abesha timiz they prefer the sun-dried one for its smelly taste better presentation

with light brown color than the smoked one black Most of the women does not know

where timiz comes from but some of them refer to Jima

Wholesalers and the broker in Addis Ababa make quality differences First in the way of

drying (smoked or sun dried) and also in the origin They always ask for sun dried timiz

but most of the time they just receive smoked one or mixed one For them a good timiz

must be heavy brown to black without white point which shows moisture Wholesalers

mostly say that the origin of timiz is Bonga Kaffa and also Jima They explain that often

they tell to consumers that it comes from Jima because this town was before the new

political organization the capital of Kaffa area In Bonga area it seems that the timiz

from Wush Wush is less tasty and has a poorer quality that the one from Chiri So they

can buy it 2ETBkg less that the last one but it is not systematic

8

According to wholesalers broker and also small shops in Merkato

Production area CharacteristicsChiri area timiz is little(female) full and fat very

smellyBonga area Timiz is full and fat very smellyWush Wush area Timiz is tall and very dried no good

presentation

Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008)

The difference of quality can be considered as an instrument to differentiate the

product according to its geographical origin As there is no official quality control nor

traceability retailers and consumers need to trust wholesalers for information about

quality and origin

Most of the timiz come from Bonga area but there is a little pond of production in

Dawero near Jima So in Merkato we can sometimes find mixed timiz According to site

productionrsquos wholesalers the different qualities are mixed and transported to Addis in

same bags at same prices They also prefer to buy sun dried kind but most of the time

they have only smoked one They say that they have asked farmers to change their way

of drying to sell timiz at a better price but there were no answers from farmers about

quality changes According to local wholesalers the best quality comes from Chiri

because this town receives timiz from three kebeles who produce the best timiz Agaro

Bushi Boba Muti

Farmers-collectors and urban collectors make

an effort to finish the drying process by sun

drying but most of the time they collect non

well smoked timiz

Farmers know the demand and know that

people prefers sun dried timiz but they

explain that smoking timiz is easier and faster because of climate conditions Also

9

Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)

according to them there is no price difference between smoked and sun dried timiz so

why to use the most difficult way of drying It is possible also to find roasted even if it

is rarely Farmers can use this technique to reduce the drying time to 5h but this way of

drying reduces lots of qualities there is no more aroma and flavor

Prices vary from year to year depending on the amount and quality of products and

demands

142 DEMAND FOR QUALITY

The differences in prices between local good and poor quality as well as farenji

timiz lets think that there is probably different markets One with high quality ( farenji

timiz) for people who can afford the price and an other for poorer people with lower

quality (abesha timiz)

Most wholesalers and retailers do not offer several types of local timiz but they have

ldquoabesha timizrdquo and ldquofarenji timizrdquo at different prices and different quantities Timiz is

sold by grams and not at the unity so people can not choose timiz ears they can just

10

Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)

05

1015202530354045

ETBkg

Good timiz Wickedtimiz

Farenjitimiz

Average ofBongatimiz

Average ofDawerotimiz

check the quality offer in general

Timiz prices are variable according to the season the harvest and the demand which

fluctuate during the year A table is presented in part 6

Consumers have been interviewed at local and national level According to rural

consumers they are aware of qualities differences and urban people are not always able

to make a difference in quality for the abesha timiz The main criteria of purchase in

Addis is the price So urban people who can afford it prefers the farenji timiz because

according to them it is cleaner gives more taste with a smaller quantity But with the

increase of prices a kilo of farenji timiz is between 45 ETB to 90 ETB according to the

place of sale This price is widely above the abesha timiz one which is sold at the same

time from 20ETB to 45ETB

Selling places for individual consumers in all Ethiopian towns are only in market places

( in small shops or street vendors) you can not find timiz in supermarkets There is no

individual packaging like in tea spice or mitmita

Problems mentioned about timiz quality

Problems Fresh harvested fruits

Processing problem Transport and storage problem

Moisture x xLoss of weight x xDirt x xSmall fruits xTaste of fruits x x xHeterogeneity of fruits

x x x

Colour x x

Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008)

Each actor has his criteria and his way of selecting timiz The next table presents the mains criteria checked by actors along the value chain

11

Actors Selection criterionFarmer Fruit is full and fat green to yellow

Farmer-collector Brown heavy with out moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Urban collector Brown heavy without moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Zonal Wholesaler Brown heavy without moisture he

12

Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008)

Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

14 QUALITY AND ORIGIN SEEN BY THE VALUE-CHAIN ACTORS

In this paragraph quality is described according to actors of the value chain

These actors will be presented in details in part 6

Timiz is one of the three species of earrsquos pepper ( Piperaceae) found in Ethiopia In the

Bongas rain forest we can find the piper capense which is actively picked and also the

piper umbellatum L which comes from South America but it is not locally consumed

The third spice is the piper longum L which comes from India It is an importationrsquos

product and can be easily found in market(Roussel B Verdeaux F2003)

141 QUALITY CONCERNS

According to the International Standard (Spices and condiments-Botanical

nomenclature) Reference number ISO 6762002 (EF) there is no international norm

which gives specifications on the quality of this product

Botanical Name Family Common name of the spice in English

Common name of the spice in French

Name of the part used as spice

Piper Capensis Piperaceae Long pepper Poivre long Fruit

Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000)

The Ethiopian Standard is based on the International one so there is no specific norm

related to timiz There are standards for black pepper that could be adapted to timiz if it

is required by markets

According to the Ministry of Agriculture there are no certifying organizations in charge

of timizs quality control along the value chain Due to a lack of formal control

institutions the timiz quality is hard to certify

National factories use a little amount of timiz in powder preparation They do not really

care if it is sun dried or smoked they just ask for clean timiz According to them at

7

present time it is very difficult to find clean and without moisture timiz When they

make a reference to the origin of the product most of the time Bonga is the first name

given

Exporters have exported for the first time this year so they did not think about the

quality but for the next year they will prefer to buy the one which has less moisture and

best presentation When they export timiz the reference about the production site is

Ethiopia and Kaffa zone

Housewives prefer to buy the farenji pepper than the abesha pepper because of the lack

of attention given to the product this gathered product is often badly dried and thus

made moldy as well as covered with various residues But price being very high so in

the abesha timiz they prefer the sun-dried one for its smelly taste better presentation

with light brown color than the smoked one black Most of the women does not know

where timiz comes from but some of them refer to Jima

Wholesalers and the broker in Addis Ababa make quality differences First in the way of

drying (smoked or sun dried) and also in the origin They always ask for sun dried timiz

but most of the time they just receive smoked one or mixed one For them a good timiz

must be heavy brown to black without white point which shows moisture Wholesalers

mostly say that the origin of timiz is Bonga Kaffa and also Jima They explain that often

they tell to consumers that it comes from Jima because this town was before the new

political organization the capital of Kaffa area In Bonga area it seems that the timiz

from Wush Wush is less tasty and has a poorer quality that the one from Chiri So they

can buy it 2ETBkg less that the last one but it is not systematic

8

According to wholesalers broker and also small shops in Merkato

Production area CharacteristicsChiri area timiz is little(female) full and fat very

smellyBonga area Timiz is full and fat very smellyWush Wush area Timiz is tall and very dried no good

presentation

Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008)

The difference of quality can be considered as an instrument to differentiate the

product according to its geographical origin As there is no official quality control nor

traceability retailers and consumers need to trust wholesalers for information about

quality and origin

Most of the timiz come from Bonga area but there is a little pond of production in

Dawero near Jima So in Merkato we can sometimes find mixed timiz According to site

productionrsquos wholesalers the different qualities are mixed and transported to Addis in

same bags at same prices They also prefer to buy sun dried kind but most of the time

they have only smoked one They say that they have asked farmers to change their way

of drying to sell timiz at a better price but there were no answers from farmers about

quality changes According to local wholesalers the best quality comes from Chiri

because this town receives timiz from three kebeles who produce the best timiz Agaro

Bushi Boba Muti

Farmers-collectors and urban collectors make

an effort to finish the drying process by sun

drying but most of the time they collect non

well smoked timiz

Farmers know the demand and know that

people prefers sun dried timiz but they

explain that smoking timiz is easier and faster because of climate conditions Also

9

Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)

according to them there is no price difference between smoked and sun dried timiz so

why to use the most difficult way of drying It is possible also to find roasted even if it

is rarely Farmers can use this technique to reduce the drying time to 5h but this way of

drying reduces lots of qualities there is no more aroma and flavor

Prices vary from year to year depending on the amount and quality of products and

demands

142 DEMAND FOR QUALITY

The differences in prices between local good and poor quality as well as farenji

timiz lets think that there is probably different markets One with high quality ( farenji

timiz) for people who can afford the price and an other for poorer people with lower

quality (abesha timiz)

Most wholesalers and retailers do not offer several types of local timiz but they have

ldquoabesha timizrdquo and ldquofarenji timizrdquo at different prices and different quantities Timiz is

sold by grams and not at the unity so people can not choose timiz ears they can just

10

Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)

05

1015202530354045

ETBkg

Good timiz Wickedtimiz

Farenjitimiz

Average ofBongatimiz

Average ofDawerotimiz

check the quality offer in general

Timiz prices are variable according to the season the harvest and the demand which

fluctuate during the year A table is presented in part 6

Consumers have been interviewed at local and national level According to rural

consumers they are aware of qualities differences and urban people are not always able

to make a difference in quality for the abesha timiz The main criteria of purchase in

Addis is the price So urban people who can afford it prefers the farenji timiz because

according to them it is cleaner gives more taste with a smaller quantity But with the

increase of prices a kilo of farenji timiz is between 45 ETB to 90 ETB according to the

place of sale This price is widely above the abesha timiz one which is sold at the same

time from 20ETB to 45ETB

Selling places for individual consumers in all Ethiopian towns are only in market places

( in small shops or street vendors) you can not find timiz in supermarkets There is no

individual packaging like in tea spice or mitmita

Problems mentioned about timiz quality

Problems Fresh harvested fruits

Processing problem Transport and storage problem

Moisture x xLoss of weight x xDirt x xSmall fruits xTaste of fruits x x xHeterogeneity of fruits

x x x

Colour x x

Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008)

Each actor has his criteria and his way of selecting timiz The next table presents the mains criteria checked by actors along the value chain

11

Actors Selection criterionFarmer Fruit is full and fat green to yellow

Farmer-collector Brown heavy with out moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Urban collector Brown heavy without moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Zonal Wholesaler Brown heavy without moisture he

12

Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008)

Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

present time it is very difficult to find clean and without moisture timiz When they

make a reference to the origin of the product most of the time Bonga is the first name

given

Exporters have exported for the first time this year so they did not think about the

quality but for the next year they will prefer to buy the one which has less moisture and

best presentation When they export timiz the reference about the production site is

Ethiopia and Kaffa zone

Housewives prefer to buy the farenji pepper than the abesha pepper because of the lack

of attention given to the product this gathered product is often badly dried and thus

made moldy as well as covered with various residues But price being very high so in

the abesha timiz they prefer the sun-dried one for its smelly taste better presentation

with light brown color than the smoked one black Most of the women does not know

where timiz comes from but some of them refer to Jima

Wholesalers and the broker in Addis Ababa make quality differences First in the way of

drying (smoked or sun dried) and also in the origin They always ask for sun dried timiz

but most of the time they just receive smoked one or mixed one For them a good timiz

must be heavy brown to black without white point which shows moisture Wholesalers

mostly say that the origin of timiz is Bonga Kaffa and also Jima They explain that often

they tell to consumers that it comes from Jima because this town was before the new

political organization the capital of Kaffa area In Bonga area it seems that the timiz

from Wush Wush is less tasty and has a poorer quality that the one from Chiri So they

can buy it 2ETBkg less that the last one but it is not systematic

8

According to wholesalers broker and also small shops in Merkato

Production area CharacteristicsChiri area timiz is little(female) full and fat very

smellyBonga area Timiz is full and fat very smellyWush Wush area Timiz is tall and very dried no good

presentation

Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008)

The difference of quality can be considered as an instrument to differentiate the

product according to its geographical origin As there is no official quality control nor

traceability retailers and consumers need to trust wholesalers for information about

quality and origin

Most of the timiz come from Bonga area but there is a little pond of production in

Dawero near Jima So in Merkato we can sometimes find mixed timiz According to site

productionrsquos wholesalers the different qualities are mixed and transported to Addis in

same bags at same prices They also prefer to buy sun dried kind but most of the time

they have only smoked one They say that they have asked farmers to change their way

of drying to sell timiz at a better price but there were no answers from farmers about

quality changes According to local wholesalers the best quality comes from Chiri

because this town receives timiz from three kebeles who produce the best timiz Agaro

Bushi Boba Muti

Farmers-collectors and urban collectors make

an effort to finish the drying process by sun

drying but most of the time they collect non

well smoked timiz

Farmers know the demand and know that

people prefers sun dried timiz but they

explain that smoking timiz is easier and faster because of climate conditions Also

9

Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)

according to them there is no price difference between smoked and sun dried timiz so

why to use the most difficult way of drying It is possible also to find roasted even if it

is rarely Farmers can use this technique to reduce the drying time to 5h but this way of

drying reduces lots of qualities there is no more aroma and flavor

Prices vary from year to year depending on the amount and quality of products and

demands

142 DEMAND FOR QUALITY

The differences in prices between local good and poor quality as well as farenji

timiz lets think that there is probably different markets One with high quality ( farenji

timiz) for people who can afford the price and an other for poorer people with lower

quality (abesha timiz)

Most wholesalers and retailers do not offer several types of local timiz but they have

ldquoabesha timizrdquo and ldquofarenji timizrdquo at different prices and different quantities Timiz is

sold by grams and not at the unity so people can not choose timiz ears they can just

10

Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)

05

1015202530354045

ETBkg

Good timiz Wickedtimiz

Farenjitimiz

Average ofBongatimiz

Average ofDawerotimiz

check the quality offer in general

Timiz prices are variable according to the season the harvest and the demand which

fluctuate during the year A table is presented in part 6

Consumers have been interviewed at local and national level According to rural

consumers they are aware of qualities differences and urban people are not always able

to make a difference in quality for the abesha timiz The main criteria of purchase in

Addis is the price So urban people who can afford it prefers the farenji timiz because

according to them it is cleaner gives more taste with a smaller quantity But with the

increase of prices a kilo of farenji timiz is between 45 ETB to 90 ETB according to the

place of sale This price is widely above the abesha timiz one which is sold at the same

time from 20ETB to 45ETB

Selling places for individual consumers in all Ethiopian towns are only in market places

( in small shops or street vendors) you can not find timiz in supermarkets There is no

individual packaging like in tea spice or mitmita

Problems mentioned about timiz quality

Problems Fresh harvested fruits

Processing problem Transport and storage problem

Moisture x xLoss of weight x xDirt x xSmall fruits xTaste of fruits x x xHeterogeneity of fruits

x x x

Colour x x

Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008)

Each actor has his criteria and his way of selecting timiz The next table presents the mains criteria checked by actors along the value chain

11

Actors Selection criterionFarmer Fruit is full and fat green to yellow

Farmer-collector Brown heavy with out moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Urban collector Brown heavy without moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Zonal Wholesaler Brown heavy without moisture he

12

Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008)

Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

According to wholesalers broker and also small shops in Merkato

Production area CharacteristicsChiri area timiz is little(female) full and fat very

smellyBonga area Timiz is full and fat very smellyWush Wush area Timiz is tall and very dried no good

presentation

Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008)

The difference of quality can be considered as an instrument to differentiate the

product according to its geographical origin As there is no official quality control nor

traceability retailers and consumers need to trust wholesalers for information about

quality and origin

Most of the timiz come from Bonga area but there is a little pond of production in

Dawero near Jima So in Merkato we can sometimes find mixed timiz According to site

productionrsquos wholesalers the different qualities are mixed and transported to Addis in

same bags at same prices They also prefer to buy sun dried kind but most of the time

they have only smoked one They say that they have asked farmers to change their way

of drying to sell timiz at a better price but there were no answers from farmers about

quality changes According to local wholesalers the best quality comes from Chiri

because this town receives timiz from three kebeles who produce the best timiz Agaro

Bushi Boba Muti

Farmers-collectors and urban collectors make

an effort to finish the drying process by sun

drying but most of the time they collect non

well smoked timiz

Farmers know the demand and know that

people prefers sun dried timiz but they

explain that smoking timiz is easier and faster because of climate conditions Also

9

Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)

according to them there is no price difference between smoked and sun dried timiz so

why to use the most difficult way of drying It is possible also to find roasted even if it

is rarely Farmers can use this technique to reduce the drying time to 5h but this way of

drying reduces lots of qualities there is no more aroma and flavor

Prices vary from year to year depending on the amount and quality of products and

demands

142 DEMAND FOR QUALITY

The differences in prices between local good and poor quality as well as farenji

timiz lets think that there is probably different markets One with high quality ( farenji

timiz) for people who can afford the price and an other for poorer people with lower

quality (abesha timiz)

Most wholesalers and retailers do not offer several types of local timiz but they have

ldquoabesha timizrdquo and ldquofarenji timizrdquo at different prices and different quantities Timiz is

sold by grams and not at the unity so people can not choose timiz ears they can just

10

Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)

05

1015202530354045

ETBkg

Good timiz Wickedtimiz

Farenjitimiz

Average ofBongatimiz

Average ofDawerotimiz

check the quality offer in general

Timiz prices are variable according to the season the harvest and the demand which

fluctuate during the year A table is presented in part 6

Consumers have been interviewed at local and national level According to rural

consumers they are aware of qualities differences and urban people are not always able

to make a difference in quality for the abesha timiz The main criteria of purchase in

Addis is the price So urban people who can afford it prefers the farenji timiz because

according to them it is cleaner gives more taste with a smaller quantity But with the

increase of prices a kilo of farenji timiz is between 45 ETB to 90 ETB according to the

place of sale This price is widely above the abesha timiz one which is sold at the same

time from 20ETB to 45ETB

Selling places for individual consumers in all Ethiopian towns are only in market places

( in small shops or street vendors) you can not find timiz in supermarkets There is no

individual packaging like in tea spice or mitmita

Problems mentioned about timiz quality

Problems Fresh harvested fruits

Processing problem Transport and storage problem

Moisture x xLoss of weight x xDirt x xSmall fruits xTaste of fruits x x xHeterogeneity of fruits

x x x

Colour x x

Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008)

Each actor has his criteria and his way of selecting timiz The next table presents the mains criteria checked by actors along the value chain

11

Actors Selection criterionFarmer Fruit is full and fat green to yellow

Farmer-collector Brown heavy with out moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Urban collector Brown heavy without moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Zonal Wholesaler Brown heavy without moisture he

12

Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008)

Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

according to them there is no price difference between smoked and sun dried timiz so

why to use the most difficult way of drying It is possible also to find roasted even if it

is rarely Farmers can use this technique to reduce the drying time to 5h but this way of

drying reduces lots of qualities there is no more aroma and flavor

Prices vary from year to year depending on the amount and quality of products and

demands

142 DEMAND FOR QUALITY

The differences in prices between local good and poor quality as well as farenji

timiz lets think that there is probably different markets One with high quality ( farenji

timiz) for people who can afford the price and an other for poorer people with lower

quality (abesha timiz)

Most wholesalers and retailers do not offer several types of local timiz but they have

ldquoabesha timizrdquo and ldquofarenji timizrdquo at different prices and different quantities Timiz is

sold by grams and not at the unity so people can not choose timiz ears they can just

10

Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)

05

1015202530354045

ETBkg

Good timiz Wickedtimiz

Farenjitimiz

Average ofBongatimiz

Average ofDawerotimiz

check the quality offer in general

Timiz prices are variable according to the season the harvest and the demand which

fluctuate during the year A table is presented in part 6

Consumers have been interviewed at local and national level According to rural

consumers they are aware of qualities differences and urban people are not always able

to make a difference in quality for the abesha timiz The main criteria of purchase in

Addis is the price So urban people who can afford it prefers the farenji timiz because

according to them it is cleaner gives more taste with a smaller quantity But with the

increase of prices a kilo of farenji timiz is between 45 ETB to 90 ETB according to the

place of sale This price is widely above the abesha timiz one which is sold at the same

time from 20ETB to 45ETB

Selling places for individual consumers in all Ethiopian towns are only in market places

( in small shops or street vendors) you can not find timiz in supermarkets There is no

individual packaging like in tea spice or mitmita

Problems mentioned about timiz quality

Problems Fresh harvested fruits

Processing problem Transport and storage problem

Moisture x xLoss of weight x xDirt x xSmall fruits xTaste of fruits x x xHeterogeneity of fruits

x x x

Colour x x

Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008)

Each actor has his criteria and his way of selecting timiz The next table presents the mains criteria checked by actors along the value chain

11

Actors Selection criterionFarmer Fruit is full and fat green to yellow

Farmer-collector Brown heavy with out moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Urban collector Brown heavy without moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Zonal Wholesaler Brown heavy without moisture he

12

Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008)

Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

check the quality offer in general

Timiz prices are variable according to the season the harvest and the demand which

fluctuate during the year A table is presented in part 6

Consumers have been interviewed at local and national level According to rural

consumers they are aware of qualities differences and urban people are not always able

to make a difference in quality for the abesha timiz The main criteria of purchase in

Addis is the price So urban people who can afford it prefers the farenji timiz because

according to them it is cleaner gives more taste with a smaller quantity But with the

increase of prices a kilo of farenji timiz is between 45 ETB to 90 ETB according to the

place of sale This price is widely above the abesha timiz one which is sold at the same

time from 20ETB to 45ETB

Selling places for individual consumers in all Ethiopian towns are only in market places

( in small shops or street vendors) you can not find timiz in supermarkets There is no

individual packaging like in tea spice or mitmita

Problems mentioned about timiz quality

Problems Fresh harvested fruits

Processing problem Transport and storage problem

Moisture x xLoss of weight x xDirt x xSmall fruits xTaste of fruits x x xHeterogeneity of fruits

x x x

Colour x x

Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008)

Each actor has his criteria and his way of selecting timiz The next table presents the mains criteria checked by actors along the value chain

11

Actors Selection criterionFarmer Fruit is full and fat green to yellow

Farmer-collector Brown heavy with out moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Urban collector Brown heavy without moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Zonal Wholesaler Brown heavy without moisture he

12

Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008)

Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Actors Selection criterionFarmer Fruit is full and fat green to yellow

Farmer-collector Brown heavy with out moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Urban collector Brown heavy without moisture Take it in his hand and timiz must be hard to crash because of dryness He smells it to check if it is smoked or sun dried Smoked ones have a stronger smell

Zonal Wholesaler Brown heavy without moisture he

12

Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008)

Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Actors Selection criterioncrushes timiz in his hand to check the humidity level One well dried will be reduced in powder easily One not well dried will be hard to reduce He smells also to check the odor

Addis Wholesaler Checks in the same way as the wholesaler in the production site

Retailer Verify the dryness of the product to avoid reduction during storage time crashing the fruit or just seeing it

Street vendor Look at the shape and the drynessRural consumer He smells it and sorts good onesUrban consumer He smells it and trust in the vendor

Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008)

143 WAY OF SELLING TIMIZFarmers sell timiz in bulks

Farmers-collectors urban collectors wholesalers in Bonga area and Addis sell timiz in

bags of 50kg Sometimes it is confusing

because they use old bags with a 100kg sign

on it So they can speak about one quintal

because of this 100kg written but the true

13

Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008)

Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

weight of timiz inside the bag is 50kg For them timiz take too many volume for its

weight

For general consumption timiz is sell by grams from small shops or in a mix with others

spices by street vendors In regions where Muslim religion is significant they sell 4 or 5

ears of timiz together in a little plastic bag or the contents of a concentrated tomato pot

(plusmn25g)

Packaging used is well adapted as the purchasing power of the population but also as

ways of consumption

2 Area of production

The timiz value chain from the farmer-gatherer to the final consumer is relatively

informal Different operators can interfere at different levels with very few controls

from authorities so traceability is sometimes difficult

There are two supply channels in Ethiopia for timiz The one from Dawero near Jima is

very small in quantities and operators so we did not focus on this one but rather on the

one that starts in South Western Ethiopia in Kaffa zone more precisely in Bonga Forest

14

Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) Illustration 11 Measure unit on

market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

The timiz production is made in Bonga area thanks to unique pedoclimatics criteria but

stays distant for consumptionrsquos centers The consumption is delocalized in Addis Ababa

and in other parts of Ethiopia as well

Example of a timiz trajectory

From the production site in the mountains to an urban center

Farmers have to walk from one to ten hours with charged mules in very sloppy and

muddy way specially in the rainy season

Then timiz is put in 50kg bags and sent to Addis by Isuzus on a long trip

Jima ndashBonga 3h30-4h30 for 105km on a non asphalted road

Jima- Addis 6-7h for 345km on an recently asphalted road since august 2008

Timiz is redistributed and has to travel very long distances to reach its final destination

15

Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Timiz is not a perishable commodity so distance between production site and

consumption center is not a problem if we refer to the CLD (consumption limited date)

but can be a problem because of roadsrsquo conditions in the rainy season Moreover this

part of Ethiopia does not receive a dense road network and travels conditions can be

very difficult

21 ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT REGION ZONE WOREDA KEBELE

The area of production is found in SNNPS in the Gimbo and China woredas and more

precisely in the kebele of Bonga Chiri Wush Wush Gopa The most important

productions come from Agaro Bushi Muti Wush Wush and around Bonga Town

22 MAPPING

16

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

23 CULTURAL CATEGORIZATION OF SPACE LOCAL DIVISIONS OF SPACE

Timiz is mostly found in the Kubo forest ( described in the part 412 The Bonga

forest) at the wild state But nowadays farmers start to domesticate the timiz plant So

we can find it but in a very little quantity just a few plants in gardens (daado) and also

in forestlsquos borders Excluding one exception timiz is not found in field (goye masso)

But some farmers told us that they are going to increase this production and want to

plant some timiz trees is their gardens and fields

17

Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

3 Environment and biodiversity

31 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

In Ethiopia timiz is mostly found in Kaffa zone in Gimbo Woreda in Bonga

area At the national level there is no information on the land coverage and timizs

production In the wild timiz is found between 1500m and 2500m It requires the same

ecological conditions as wild coffee but can be found in higher places Its location is in

the Bonga forest which is located in Kaffa zone of the SNNPR which is found within

the southwestern plateau of Ethiopia The original forest area covers 161 424ha and lies

within 07rsquo00rsquo-7rsquo25N latitude and 35rsquo55rsquo-36rsquo37E longitude stretching across five

woredas Gimbo Menjiwo Tello Decha Chena The altitude of the area is from 1000

to 3350 m consisting of a highly dissected plateau with flat to moderately undulating

terrain on areas above 1500m

The annual rain fall ranges is from 1710mm to 1900mm in Bonga Station in one

long rainy season starting from March to October Over 85 of the total annual rainfall

which means monthly values are in the range of 125-250mm occurs in the 8 months

long rainy season The average temperature is 194oC at Bonga while it is 181 oC at

Wushwush station which is located 200m higher than Bonga ( Ersado M 2001)

18

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

In addition to these general climate conditions timiz requires shadow and

humidity However the Bonga forest is considered as a perfect biotope for timiz

whereas some special woredas are more suitable than others Gimbo and Detcha are the

two main woredas that produce timiz

32 RELIEF

The region of study is a hilly region average height 1900 m Interfluves are

relatively short Their hillsides are convex They are largely separated by valleys in V

Talwegs run in permanent or temporary streams forming in rainy season Some valleys

have a wide flat and wet bed which shelters a swamp to Carex The region is tilted by

the northeast towards the southwest of the mountain massif which peaks as height as 2

400 meters in the hydromorphe zone in 1 600 meters with an average slope of 6 All

19

Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

the streams which cross the zone of study does not follow this slope Only the West of

Wushwush is drained by streams converging on a river which throws(casts) itself into

the hydromorphe zone Other streams join two brooks which pass by from west to east

and join just before Bonga Wushwush is a part of the pond overturning of Omo which

takes its source in the Ethiopian mountains on the West of the capital crosses the

Ethiopian southwest and finishes its running in the lac Turkana on the border with

Kenya This relief is the fruit of a basalt volcanism arisen from the tectonic movements

of the Service industry at the origin of the formation of the Rift valley East-African

The basement of the region is thus constituted by basalt rocks which appear in the top of

certain hills or appear in a cutting and of tuffs rocks stemming from the consolidation

of volcanic ashes The layers of basalt and born volcanic ashes overlap irregularly The

basement organized in layers is covered with a geologic formation of the Quaternary

stemming from the degradation of the underlying rocks Grounds are rich in clays and in

organic matter particularly deep and largely drained well They are considered as the

most fertile grounds of Ethiopia (Bareaud M2007)

33 THE BONGA FOREST amp BIODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIMIZ

Forests are omnipresent in the landscape According to farmers there are two

types

- Guudo (Kef) the dense forest which is a little anthropised It has a

difficult access because of the vegetation and creepers It is composed by

different striates The higher one (25-30m) is composed by Olea africana and

Cordia africana The inferior one (15-20m) by Shefflera abyssinica Albizia

schimperiana and Millettia ferruginea The shrub one is rich in Coffea arabica

The last one is an herbaceous one The government considers this kind of forest

as a reserve(Azene Bekele-Tesemma amp al1999)

- Kubbo (Kef) it is the one used by farmers There is a continuum of

anthropisation of this forest which is the result of the exploitation of non timber

20

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

forest product (coffee spiceshellip) The structure of the forest is simplified to

improve shade development of productionhellip It is a place of hunting and

gathering for the original population nowadays often marginalized

- Coffee plantation in woody areas Some forests are very anthropised the

structure in striates is simplified and the cover is glade Underneath the trees in

the shady area are planted some coffee trees with a higher density than in coffee

forest

34 HISTORY OF THE ZONE amp DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA

The medieval kingdom of Kaffa whose name is immortalized as the derivative

of the words coffee and cafeacute lay to the southwest of Jimma in what is now Kaffa-

Sheka zone of the SNNPS The people of Kaffa are part of the Ghibe ethno-linguistic

group and speak their own Kaficho language A credible oral tradition states that Kaffa

was founded in the late 14th century by the Minjo dynasty and was originally ruled from

a town called Shada of Bonkatato the royal capital shifted to the extant town of Bonga

which retained its importance into the 1880s when Paul Soleillet the first European

visitor to Kaffa regarded it to be the largest settlement in the region and reported that a

palace was still maintained there

Kaffa though it lay outside the Christian empire of the highlands appears to have fallen

under its sporadic influence Oral traditions indicating that Emperor Sarsa Dengals 16th

-century expedition to western Ethiopia resulted in the limited introduction of

Christianity to Kaffa are backed up by the presence of a monastery dating to around

1550 Kaffa was too remote to be affected by the jihad of Ahmed Gragn and it

withstood the subsequent Oromo incursion into the western highlands by digging deep

protective trenches around the major settlements Kaffa remained an autonomous state

from its inception until Emperor Menelik II conquered it in the late 19th century and

imprisoned its last king at Ankober( Briggs P 2006)

The ldquoSouthrdquo country laquo without monuments raquo in contrary to the ldquoNorthrdquo

21

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

( Gascon 1995) is the country of the conquered people During one century farmers of

the south were highly taxed on their brute production and their labors force to have a

precarious access to land and others means of production in benefit of the Northern

aristocratic elite Frees from these relations since the revolution of 1974 farmers have

seen the 1975 radical agrarian reform to be diluted because of the power centralization

and the intervention of the social regime of Mengistu As a result farmers had to

practice growing systems very extensive in labour because of the little height of the

farms (Planel 2003 et Cochet 2007) Inside of these systems there is the enset which

has a good caloric yield So people from this region consume a lot of kocho to the

detriment of tef So these population non-amharic and non amharised are despised by

others parts of the country

Consequently the diet is very simple a piece of kocho and coffee will do They

do not use a lot of tef because of the productionrsquos difficulties In all dishes made with

kocho the use of wet is really weak This can be explained because in the production

area people do not use their resources and prefer to sell it to others regions where wet

with injeira or wet with spaghetti are the mains dishes

Tukuls are farmers habitation and for most of farm the animal stalling with

different kind of domesticate animals Far from the urban influence of towns center

(Bonga-Chiri-Wush Wush) tukuls are dispersed in the landscape However these huts

are rarely situated in foot hills but more in top hills Farmers have little access to land

and also to building wood resources

The Agricola census made in 2001 talks about 77 000 persons in the Gimbo

Woreda area with a density of 85 habkmsup2 The density in forest is around 78 habkmsup2

and about 182 habkmsup2 out of the forest In 5 years the population increased 22 in all

the area

35 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND REQUIREMENT

According to farmers timiz can be found from 1300m to 2400m It requires the

22

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

ecological conditions as coffee but it can be also found in higher place Coffee needs

around 35 of shade but timiz needs more so it is easily found in dense forest

4 Production

41 PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ACTORS

411 GENERAL DATA ON PRODUCTION

Timiz is mostly a gathering product collected by smallholders in forest with non

timber forest products like kororima honeyhellip

Timiz is considered by farmers as a cash crop and can represent an important part of

farmersrsquo income The production is the occupation of smallholders just recently a

company (Apinec) started to think about collecting timiz to export it in a goal to favorite

the protection of biodiversity in the area

So as a consequence when timiz is cultivated it is produced without fertilization nor

irrigation and on very small areas from a few plants to 3 angus ( 8 angus=1ha)

excepting one farmer

412 PLANT DEVELOPMENT

At wild state timiz multiplication is realized by seeds In the forest some

farmers manage timiz plants and made a vegetative multiplication with seedling The

vegetative multiplication permits to cover an important surface in a few time and this

method is more suitable to increase the production

Farmers have never tried to domesticate timiz in their fields or home gardens since the

last two years But the surface still very little from a few plants to 3 angus with an

exception of 2ha

The labor to domesticate timiz is not important and consists to clean the piece of

23

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

land with slash-and-burn field There is no labour and transplantation directly from the

forest o by seedling There is no plants selection The only maintenance work is to clean

the plant with a lsquogueijeirarsquo (machete) to refresh the place From 10 to 30 minutes every

3 months

To enter in production a timiz shrub needs 1 to 3 years The pick of production is after 3

or 4 years and the life of a timiz plant is around 8 to 10 years

Timiz requires together shadow and light for an optimal development Direct sunshine

reduces the development of the bush and burn leaves The wild coffee forest offers the

best conditions to the development of timiz but no association is more recommended

Fruits are produced all around the year but the most important pick of production is

from September to December

Gathering timiz has a lot of advantages First worksrsquo time is reduced farmers keep

space on fields for other crops and they harvest timiz when they go to the forest for

others preoccupations like collecting wood or looking after beehives Locally timiz is

not really used as a spice for berbere or wet but more as an easy cash crop so when they

need money they just go to the forest and harvest a couple of kilos

However this wild production has also some limits Firstly the competition with

animals like baboons whose love this product Secondly the less of managing do not

permit an important harvest so yields still small From 25 to 35 less than when timiz

is domesticated Thirdly timiz grows in remote areas so farmers are not always in the

good place at the exactly gathering time Even if there is not private land property in

Ethiopia in most villages farmers have some access and use rights over the commons

In principle this could ensure an access to timiz for the different holders of rights but

because of the good value of this spice theft can be quite tempting in these remote

areas Farmers are often led to collect green timiz or at least not fully ripe berries so as to

secure their income when they need it the most This practice has dreadful consequences

on the final product the processing methods being unable to hide poor quality of raw

material Another problem with wild timiz is that even if required agricultural practices

are not so intensive it is still hard to ensure an appropriate level of shading and weeding

24

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

in a forest even in a ldquomanagedrdquo forest

For all theses reasons farmers start to look for alternatives ways between wild

production and timiz growing So they manage the timiz in forestsrsquo borders which has

the advantage to be closer to farms lands easier to protect

The main actors of this production are smallholders women children and manjhos people

This is an individual production because there is no association specialised on spices

and also because the labor does not need so many hands

42 TYPOLOGIES OF THE PRODUCERS Timiz production does not take reference in a specific type of producers presented in

typologies made by Maieween Bareaud in 2007 at the time of her agrarian diagnostic on

the Wush Wush area

25

Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Majority of farmers gathering or cultivating timiz are smallholders with a few or no land

or with a difficult access to land and non cultivable in coffee They form the most

important group They grow spices as diversification products on small areas (home

gardens borders of forestshellip) or they collect them from wild Even if forests are often

considered as common or collective property and have been owned by the regional

governments since 1974 previous institutional framework and traditional management

systems that used to define access and use rights are still implicitly working and they are

tolerated in most areas (Stellmacher 2005) As a consequence forests are divided

among the households living in the area Individual plots are managed by households

individually or in groups Products are harvested by householders that hold rights over

the plot but these rights are more or less exclusive Common products are generally

commonly harvested whereas high value products tend to be appropriated on a more

exclusive basis by specific people Spices are often considered as private resources

even on common lands That shows the importance of this product in local livelihood It

has also consequences on the management of the ldquowildrdquo areas where they grow or on

the access and benefit to these ldquowildrdquo products by local population Smallholders mostly

use traditional farming methods They do not use fertilizers for spice production

especially because of their price and their lack of access to credit They are still using

local varieties only Research centres are not releasing improved varieties of spices

Farmers producers of coffee are not really interested in the growing

One farmer seems to be innovative for this growing Because of a difficult access to his

high and far land too high for coffee plantation he started four years ago to expend his

field of timiz to 2ha It is the unique farmer who grows timiz at a big level For him

timiz is more interesting that coffee because it can be collected all around the year For

the harvest time he is used to work with the gaboo system (exchange of working

days)One person in 4hours can collect 10 kg of fresh timiz The production is around

700kg of dried timizyear

Coffee investors installed yet on the area want to work in a way of biodiversity respect

and consequently let the timiz present yet on the farm growing Harvest is made by

employees and women whom keep the income At the farm level timiz is not considered

26

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

as production with high potential so they focus on coffee production In Bonga area 14

investors are installed two owners were thinking about increasing the production to

export it to their partners countries but the benefice derived is largely inferior as the one

from coffee so timiz is considered as an laquo extra raquo and as a mean to show the

biodiversity wealth of the zone

Women and children have also an important role in the harvest They are the ones with

manjhos people who are going to the forest to gather wild timiz

43 DRYNESS PROCESS The most important part of the processing chain is the drying of fresh timiz because of

all the impacts on physical and organoleptic conservation and on the income

There is two different process of drying timiz (sun-drying and smoking) and they are

applied depending on the way of

commercialization

The most common is the smoking one of the

fact of weather conditions After been cleaned

timiz fruits are put on a bed made with wood

and bamboos branches and places above the

fire The drying process takes between 3 and 4

days So fruits are dark with a strong smell of

smoke

The sun-drying process is longer

than the precedent Fruits are put on

a plastic in the sun They are turn

regularly and transport into the

house every night and during

rainfall This way takes between 10

to 20 days depending of the number

27

Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)

Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

of sunny hours and intensity of sunlight At the end of the process fruits are clearer of

one brown color which can show some points of mold

Farmers said that the first method is easier takes less time and permits to earn money

quicker But sometimes they have to use the second method because of the high

demand of sun dried timiz which is described as better and easier to conserve

The second method is mostly used by farmers who are in association and want to sell

their production to private investors Because these last ones want guaranty of good

quality

Sometimes farmers used both drying process The yield is very little because for 100 kg

of fresh fruits after the drying process just stay 50kgs

431 ACTORS OF THE DRYING PROCESS

The drying process is carried out at the first stage of the supply chain Most of the time

farmers dry themselves the fruit before to sell it to farmers-collectors or to urban

collectors but they do not dry it completely So the first intermediary has to collect all

the production from different farmers select the fruit eliminate the moldy and broke

one Then they put the selected fruit in the sun to finish the drying process

Farmers They dry the harvest at home directly after harvesting Certainly drying

process takes time and space but permits to add a good value to the production Indeed

fresh timiz is paid 2 ETBkg less than dry timiz

Farmers-collectors or urban collectors they can gather the timiz but most of the time in

adds of their collect they buy neighbors-farmersrsquo production to have a big amount

before to sell it to wholesalers Some collectors buy fresh timiz to dry it themselves and

to increase the added value

Wholesalers small retailers and consumers never do the drying process

28

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

44 IMPACTS ON QUALITYThe phase of drying is the most important one of the value chain because it conditions

the quality quantities as well as prices Even if at the purchasing time no difference of

price is made on quality If the timiz was harvested before the harvest time and the fruit

is very little they can buy it one or two ETBkg less than for good fruits but it appears

rarely

Drying the fruit can mask the poor quality of it especially after smoking because all the

fruits are dark and it is difficult to determine if they have been harvested green or ripe

Only the waist of the fruit can be an indicator

Dried timiz is sold by weight so some farmers find it more profitable to sell non

completely dried fruit that still with water and also heavier Of this fact there is a loss of

weight along the value chain during stocking periods but also loss of quality and

apparition of moisture on fruits At the purchasing time there is no control of dryness

and there is no definition of maximum residual moisture

Advantage of the different methods

Methods Characteristics of the fruit

Common features

Advantages Drawbacks

Sun-drying BrownNo smell of smoke

Smoking Black-darksmell of smoke

No difference in taste and appearance No uniform drying

Respect of natural smell

Intensive labourSpace takerPossible appearance of moulds

Less labour interesting during rainy season smoked smell

Need resources (wood)

45 ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS

There is no associations of producers like cooperative specialised in spices and even less

for timiz However two local NGOrsquos Farm Africa and SoS Sahel International are

29

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

working together in a project called ldquoParticipatory Forest Management Programmerdquo

(PFMP) This program aims at achieving environmental sustainability and biodiversity

conservation through supporting the development of innovative participatory forest

management plans that secure rights revenues and responsibilities of forest users

Producers are organized into cooperative to protect the biodiversity of the Bonga Forest

So producers have training periods on bee-keeping coffee management with some

points on kororima and timiz management In the project one section is concentrated on

commercialization NTFPs of Bonga Forest spices of Bonga (Farm Africa Sos Sahel

2004)

The Kaffa Forest Union Coffee (KFUC) in Bonga had started a program on biodiversity

and in the first optic timiz was one of the spices important to protect and develop But

because of a short of money they do not deal more with timiz

46 CATEGORISATION OF THE RESOURCES

From four modalities of access to forest two come from the past

- exclusive usufruct only one person can have access to this forest All

resources can be used without restriction spices and coffee gathering wood and

cutting treeshellip access to this forest is regularised by the tenant for life Often he

enlarge the access to his family neighbours But if a stranger enter without

permission he is qualified as a thief

- partial usufruct governmental forests non distributed are used by farmers

who have fields just next to the forest Owners of these fields have an officious

right for utilisation They can gather coffee spices wood but they can not cut

trees

- The new government strengthen the forest conservation In the area it

helps the NGO Farm Africa ldquoparticipatory forest management programrdquo

Farmers are grouped in cooperative with the goal to protect the biodiversity

30

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Farmers work one day for the cooperative in the forest and they need an

authorisation to collect building wood This program fix one of the ways of

landsrsquo access the participative one

- The government improve a politic for the development of coffee

production It encourages the plantation in forest by giving large lands of forest

to investors for a limited time and with conditions Investors can manage the

forest for 40 years In this way it is not permit to cut trees but there is no

interdiction about planting spices others trees like eucalyptus or beehives These

land were before used by partial usufruct but there were considered as wrong

managed

47 ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS AT THE FARM AND LOCAL LEVEL

Timiz is considered as an easy cash crop by smallholders For some farmers is

the only resource of money Further in Ethiopia farmers have to paid government taxes

in money so timiz can be indispensable in some cases According to the interviews

timiz incomes can represent from10 to 60 and more of the general income The

production of timiz still small in comparison as kororima production but some trade

have been created Thanks to this production farmers with a little treasury can afford to

buy to others and create a little saving with the resell Most of this farmers-collectors

were illegals and last year the government has wished to regulate the situation but today

farmers-collectors mostly still illegals

5 Tradition and innovation

51 CULTURAL INSCRIPTION THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT USES PRACTICES

Rather remarkably long pepper is well known and popular in parts of Africa

31

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

namely in the Islacircmic regions of North and East Africa Therefore long pepper is

important in the Ethiopianrsquos cooking where it is usually found in the traditional meat

stews (wet)

Before the Derg Ethiopians were used to use Indian long pepper In 1979

Mengistu rallied the sovietique group and the unique word was ldquoworking togetherrdquo So

cooperatives of production are created at kebele level at the same time as selling

cooperatives After 1984 thanks to the selling cooperative there is a demand for timiz

So gathering in forest starts The production is sold in Addis Ababa and locally the

consumption stays weak

The 80rsquos are the start of the timiz production and progressivly prices increase

Data were avaible only from 2001 But the graph shows an evolution on prices

The main uses of timiz are in cooking and as medecine

511 MEDICAL USE

In Ethiopia traditional medicines are very widespread They still very important for

rural and poor people who can not afford high prices of modern drugs and long distance

from the hospital Timiz locally known as lsquoturforsquo can be used to cure both human and

animal diseases like lsquocurtomatrsquo (pins and needles in ones legs) lsquowugatrsquo(breathing

32

Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008)

Annual average July01 -June07

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jul01-jun02

Juil02-Jun03

Juil03-Jun04

juil04-Jun05

juil05-Jun06

juil06-Jun07

ETBkg

Bonga

AddisAbaba

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

problems) lsquokurtatrsquo (digestive problems)

The oleoresin fraction of pepper has bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties (Kochhar

SL 1998)The fresh timiz fruit is harvested beaten into pulp and boiled in water It is

served like a concoction For animal disease they used timiz leaves boiled in water

which can help to have a higher lactation

512 COOKING USE Timiz has also some importance for the cuisine of Ethiopia where long pepper is usually

found in the traditional meat stews (wet) mostly together with black pepper nutmeg

cloves and turmeric the usage of turmeric exemplifies Indian influence in Ethiopian

cuisine

Berebere is a really hot mixture and traditionally used to spice mutton dishes it is made

by roasting dry chiles a few minutes until they darken and subsequent adding of long

black pepper ginger coriander fruits fenugreek Sweet tones which are essential for

the cooking styles of all Arabic nations are achieved by cinnamon cardamom seeds

cloves and even all spice Some recipes also ask for rue leaves or fruits After a few

more minutes of dry roasting all the spices are ground together

timiz can also be used to spice coffee tea and butter especially There is no precise

measure in the spice use Ethiopian people use spices in every dishes but always in a

small amount According to housewives one kilo of timiz is enough for from 6 months

to one year

Because of high prices of spices Ethiopian people are used to buy little quantities of

spices For example timiz is often sold in little box of concentrated tomato (15 to 25g)

513 OTHER USE Women are the ones who are generally going harvesting wild timiz on the forest The

income of this small quantity from 3 to 5 kg of dried timizwoman serves to buy clothes

and necessities for the house

Children also harvest wild timiz and use the income to buy school things

33

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Men generally harvest the managed timiz and cultivated timiz The income serves to pay

governmental taxes eudir (contribution to help neighbors) and all the intrans for the

farm functioning

52 PATRIMONALIZATION HERITAGE DIMENSIONS

53 RECENT CHANGES INNOVATIONS If timiz production stays a gathered level since

two years ago innovations has been ascertained

Farmers are more and more careful with plants

and imagine news techniques to increase the

production like seedlings or they put some props

to help plant to develop itself Farmers start also

to domesticate timiz and cultivate it in small

quantities but we have the example of the farmer

with two hectares who works in a collective way

and thinks that others farmers are going to start

cultivation

At this time there is no genetic or technical

researches made by Ethiopian research centers

34

Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production

61 PRESENTATION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

35

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

In the graph we have presented an eventual new way of selling timiz this

according to investors or companies We

have described what they want to do and

how they perceive quality In majority

investors are working on coffee trade with a

label of fair trade and in respect of

biodiversity Export timiz will be a new

way of promotion for the Bonga forest

Moreover local people do not use this

resource in their way of life so it is a

manner to not bungle a magnificent

resource Most of companies are not sure to

realize this commerce because of small

quantities and hard work but the description

is the way how they want to do it The first

project must not appeared before three years

611 FUNCTION AND ROLE OF EVERY ACTOR OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Farmers They are on the value chain base and they do not keep well informed on the

value chain working and on the final destination of the product For them timiz is an

easy cash crop and even if this spice can be an important part of their income they do

not give a lot of attention An example to illustrate this affirmation is the attention gave

to timizrsquos quality More upstream in the value chain actors prefer the sun-dried timiz

because it keeps all the flavor and itsrsquo color is more attractive This demand has been

transmitted to producers but these ones do not pay attention because they dried fruits

with wooden fire and price is the same and labor is less important

36

Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Wush Wush producer laquo For me it is better to smoke it because they (traders)buy it at

the same price and it is less workrdquo

Farmers in PFM association They know that timiz production can be a good

complement for their incomes and also to protect biodiversity of the area but they prefer

to focus on coffee which is a more important growing

Producer member of PFMass ldquoFarm Africa gives us many training period and they

tell us how to take care about biodiversity But all the training are based on coffee

management and timiz is just to preserve our resource I prefer to focus on coffee but I

know that I have to take care of timizrdquo

Womenchildren Mostly they go to the forest to gather wild timiz all around

the year For them timiz is an important resource of money and often the only one They

know that they can bring just little quantity and they do not imagine the amplitude of the

value chain Women do not really use timiz in cooking and do not really care about

quality

Housewife in Agaro Bushi ldquoWe never use timiz and I donrsquot want to use it This for

people from the city Quality Smoked is enough like kororima Why do you want to

do something elserdquo

Manjhos people These men and women considered as subhumans by their

compatriots due to their life in forest are important actors of the value chain Thanks to

their wild life their plantsrsquo knowledge is raised As a matter of consequence they are

well informed on timiz management and shrub properties They do not use timiz in wet

but more as a medicine in an herbal tea At the production level they are the biggest

pickers group of wild timiz but their limited access to forest does not always permit

them to affirm this activity

37

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Muti farmer laquo If you want to know about timiz you need to ask the Manjhos The

ones from the forest because they know about all kind of plants you can find in

forestrdquo

Small vendors in zonal market Market take place three times per week in

each little town It is quite difficult to find timiz because everything is sold to

intermediaries but some women can offer a little plastic bag of timiz and sell it by ears

Market is divided in small quarters In the spice peas and dried products quarter the

number of sellers varies in function of the day Saturday is the biggest market of the

week

Women market lsquoI donrsquot have timiz because nobody use it here And if you want to

have it you go to the forest so why lost money in something you can gatherrdquo

Farmers-collectors They have a strategic roll in the value chain They are a

strong link between producers and wholesalers These last ones do not want to buy little

quantities by little quantities and so need a middleman between them and farmers

Farmers have a strong trust in farmers-collectors because they belong to the same trade

group The level of transactionsrsquo possibilities for farmers-collectors depend on their

outset financial capital and also on the social capital More he gives confidence and help

producers more his custom will be big Some farmers-collectors also advance money

before the harvest time to some farmers The harvest in normally paid cash They are

also a key for the transmission of information thanks to their strong link with the rural

side Most of the time farmers go the farmer-collector tukul to deliver their production

but this last one has also to take his mule in the mountain and has to go from properties

to properties to collect timiz Concerning quality they give more attention to it and

make a first selection fruits before to perfect the drying process with sun drying system

and to deliver to zonal wholesalers They are specialized in timiz trade and a lot of them

have just started a few years ago

38

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Farmer-collector in Wush Wush laquo I am also producer but being a farmer-collector is

a profitable situation I have increase my income My custom is quite important

because contrary to others I help my customers with sometimes an advance of money

or also I go to their tukul to carry the timiz I know every body from the zone Some

farmers walk with their freight 6 hours to come to my house because they trust me

They know I give the good price and I will help them women and manjhos people

particularlyrdquo

Urban collector They are not numerous but they can have a key roll for the

transfer of the material because out of the harvest season they can buy little quantities

of timiz and by this way help families in need They never go to the production site

Producers during market days ( from 2 to 3 per week) carry their production to the

town Urban collectors are not specialized in timiz commerce or spices in general At the

same level in the value chain as farmers collectors they drain smaller quantities

Urban collector in WushWush ldquowe buy timiz all around the year but we donrsquot have

enough quantity to sell to big wholesalers so we need to sell to the little one Most of

the time we have to clean fruits and to put them 1 day on the sun to achieve the

process If we donrsquot do that then it will have moisture and it is not good for the

businessrdquo

Wholesalers in zonal towns The three urban centers of the zone ( Bonga ndash

Chiri- Wush Wush) regroup around twenty wholesalers who have to regroup the

production and send it to Addis No one is specialized on timiz and only fews are just

specialized on spices Most of the time they also buy coffee grains honeyhellipAt the

origin spices were send to Addis trough Jima which was a big commercial cross-roads

But recentlya lot of wholesalers had received their license and spices are directly send

to Addis Timiz is send by Isuzu (50 bags contains) as the same time as kororima but

does not represent more than 10 bags The wholesaler rarely makes the travel to Addis

The Isuzu charged they call to a broker who has to find a buyer

39

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Wholesaler in Chiri laquo For me timiz does not represent a big resource but we started a

few years ago and it is not so bad The only problem is on quality we told to farmers

to sun dried them but they donrsquot care [hellip] I have a broker and I trust him I know he is

correct

Broker He is indispensable in thegood working of the value chain how its

appears today There are two brokers trading with timiz One is going to take his

retirement and just trade with two wholesalers The other one a young man responsible

of the goods of the 20 others wholesalers of the zone All wholesalers without exception

go through him It reigns a very strong confidence climate between them because when

the broker has found buyers goods are send to Addis from Bonga area The broker

recovers the money and transfers it by mandate thanks to the commercial bank The

wholesaler thus prevented goes to the local commercial bank and takes his money

This avoid to take to many risks during traveling time He is the only one in timiz trade

so he has the monopole of the transaction This 25 years old man knows how to create

relations and develop his social capital The fact that all wholesalers go through him is

surprising and there is no reason in the familial red because all his family comes from

Addis It is just thanks to his work and his enterprising personality that people trust

him

Broker in Addis laquo I am the only one working on timiz People trust me because I am

always clean I started in this business when I was 14 years old so I know a lot of

people If I make a mistake or steal money every body will know it I will lost all my

custom so better for me to be rightrdquo

Wholesaler in Addis Most of wholesalers in Addis are regrouped in a special

spices area in Merkato They buy the production before to redistribute it to wholesalers

from any parts of the country They also send to small shops or private consumers

(hotel restaurantshellip)and also processing firms but only in 50kg bags Timiz represents a

lowest part of their income and mostly they buy more it to complete their scale than for

40

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

a real financial interest These wholesalers are generally specialized in grains coffee

and spices They do not buy others raw materials

Wholesaler in Addis laquo I donrsquot buy timiz to make money but I am trading with spices

coffee maizehellip so is it to show that I have a very large scale of products and that you

can find everything in my shoprdquo

Retailers They are the last sellers of the value chain and they have an

indispensable roll because thanks to them consumers can find timiz every where There

are two kind of retailers shops and street vendors Most of shops are situated in

Merkato retail many different spices produced in Ethiopia or imported along with peas

or other dried products They buy through the broker directly from production site or

from Addis wholesalers These retailers have just-in-time strategies they never store

more than one or two bags of 50kg and they do not not speculate on timiz They sell by

grams or kilo to direct consumers retailers from others parts of the country Street

vendors buy to shops little quantities of different spices no more than one kilo and sell

little mixed spices

Merkato retailer laquo we are directly in contact with consumers so we know what they

want and for timiz they ask for a better quality We know that the timiz comes from

Bonga but the Indian one is better because it is cleaner It will be good if farmers can

make an effortrdquo

Exporter These last ones are just two1999EC it was the first time that data on

export were registered by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) for the modest quantity

of 11T The two destinations are Israel and Yemen These exporters permit timiz to

travel and to the Ethiopian diaspora to keep its identity

Addis exporter laquo I am used to export a lot of different spices I have one license for all

different kind of spice Some friends in Israel asked me for timiz so I send them timiz

But comparing to kororima or ginger it is nothingrdquo

41

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

National factory Two national factories are working with timiz but in very little

proportion They make powder with different kinds of spices They buy it from Merkato

and they are not really interested in the value-chain Whereas in Bonga area it is

difficult to find the dried timiz fruit you can easily buy these powders

Merkato factory ldquowe do not really care about timiz it is just a very little amount but

we need for our preparationrdquo

Consumers There is two kind of consumers Rural and poor consumers who

does not really care about quality and origin and urban consumers who can afford high

prices who want a better quality for timiz and if there is an effort made on it they ready

to make an effort to promote the labor

Urban lady ldquoI use sometimes timiz and I like the taste but it is not so easy to find

good quality of timiz Most of the time you have moisture very strange things If they

make an effort I want to buy more and I am not afraid to pay morerdquo

612 PURCHASING MOTIVATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE ORIGIN FOR THE ACTORS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originFarmer-collector Possibility of a new job

endemic spice from Bonga Promotion of the zone

Selection in Bonga area The others peppers do not have the same taste so the Kaffa one is the best one

Urban collector Possibility to complete their income

Do not care Better to check quality

42

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Actors Purchasing motivation Importance of the originZone Wholesaler Complete the spices scale

Promotion of the zone facilities for conservation

The only place of production is Bonga so important to be proud of our biodiversity and its products At zone level origin of production site may make a difference Some site are more esteemed

Addis Wholesaler Better scale different prices interesting spice facilities for conservation

The abesha one is good and cheaper as the farenji one because of taxes They are not really interested on origin The most important is quality

Retailers Good demand and good price interesting to have to diversify the shop Easy to sell in big quantities

Bonga is the biggest production and the best so for the same price better to have the best quality

Street Vendor Cheaper than farenji timiznice taste in tea or wetdemand from consumers

Do not care about

Rural Consumer Spicy and less expensiveessential for cooking preparation

It is Ethiopian and this is the most important

Urban Consumer Nice taste something different as black pepper Prefer the sun dried as the smoked one because of the burned-smoked smellEasy to find

It is not the same taste and interesting to promote our culture and be proud of our products because they are good products But most of consumers just know it as kaffa timiz

Each actor of the value chain has his proper motivation to purchase timiz and no

actor have the same interest Concerning the importance of origin in the purchase it is

important to remember that nobody talk by himself about the origin It is not something

they improve to sell more After a few questions actors can make a reference The

products origin is not perceive in the same way agreeably to person Some people do

not care about others make reference at a national production and some at a regional

43

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

production

The principal factor pointed out during the purchase is the quality But this answer is not

general Moreover traders do not have necessarily several qualities and the purchasing

power of the population does not allowed everybody the choice

44

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

41

Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Actors are not agree on quality aspects For example consumers want sun dried timiz

and producers dry it with smoking process So there is a miss understand between

actors This difficulty can be easily overcome if actors tray to transmit the information

But in the actual value chain there is not enough communication between actors

Wholesalers say that they told producers but these last ones say the contrary So with

more communication and meeting this problem can be easily resolved Information must

be transmitted and a technical help can be established Farmers prefer to keep their time

and material for furthers activities more fairly profitable

613 ORGANIZATION OF THE MERKATO THE BIGGEST MARKET OF AFRICA

Merkato is the point of convergence of production from every Ethiopians

regions so it seems important to describe this market where billions of tonnes of

aliments spices and others productions go through every year

The mass of stalls produce and people may seem impenetrable but on closer inspection

the market reveals a careful organization with different section for different products It

is possible to find everything from Kalashnikov to camels going through vegetables

honey spices The market is made by millions of little sheet-iron shops at the side of

little muddy ways

The spices quarter is in the center of Merkato and the access can be difficult for trucks

because of the crowd who is here from 6 in the morning to late in the night

The access for pedestrian is possible but no so easy and not everybody want to

adventure himself in this place to find spices

These shops are the victualing place for all shops in Addis Ababa and others towns

For trucks there is no parking

The first time Merkato seems to be very disorganized and easy to be lost But after a

few time the construction of the market appears clear to the consumer So it can be not

so difficult for consumer to find what they want

46

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

In Addis there is more than 10 markets and the most important are Shola Gergi Asko

Shopkeepers buy timiz at Merkato wholesalers and big retailers They sell it either to

end consumers or to street vendors who buy timiz by grams These are often old people

owning small suk (Amh) or street merchants who have a small stall with from 10 to 20

plastic-wrapped products Sometimes they buy on credit and mixes spices in little 1 or 2

ETB heaps Agreeably to the situation of the market prices vary and can be an indicator

of consumersrsquo type Depending on their location and on the demand traders adapt their

supply and can have only one timiz or a wide range of products ( abesha timiz farenji

timiz mixed for tea butterhellip) people usually buy timiz only once or twice a month and

not always at the same shop

Most consumers as well as market retailers are women The large-scale business

(transport bargaining processing) are controlled by men

47

Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Prices in Addis markets depend on the location of the market place and also on the

consumer profile

For example in Merkato 1kg is 13 ETB and in Addisu Gebeya it is 45 ETB

Most of people have a little idea about origin of timiz links to quality and specificities

Origin can be a purchasing criteria

48

Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Ethiopia

05

101520253035

Bonga

Tepi

Mer

kato

Harar

Dire D

awa

Bahir

Dar

Addis

Ababa

Jinka

ETBkg

Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)

Annual Average in Addis markets

05

101520253035404550

Mer

kato

Ker

a

San

is

Sho

la

Ger

gi

Aka

ki

Ask

o

Efo

yita

Geb

eya

Add

isu

Geb

eya

Zen

ebe

wor

k

Kot

ebe

Fer

nens

ay L

egas

ion

Ave

rage

ETB

kg

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Prices increase with the distance But prices in big consumption area like Dire Dawa or

Harar (15ETBkg) are less important than in little consumption area like Jinka

(30ETBkg)

62 PRICES AND VARIATIONSpeaking on prices timiz is at the average of spices prices It is the third most expensive

local spice (CSA2007)

Volume of trade is not as large as the kororima one because of the gathering criteria

But at its level timiz has an economic significance due to the income it generates at

various levels from local farmers to big wholesalers Even if volume is small most of

spices traders work with timiz

63 PRICES FIXATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMERCE

At the beginning of the harvest the wholesalers professional organization has a

meeting and decided the price director for one kilo This price will be the one they will

buy from local wholesalers So they transmit the price and wholesalers adapt it before to

tell it to farmers

49

Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008))

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ETBkg

Cloves (import)

Farenji timiz (

import)

Cinnamon (import)

Black pepper (Loc)

Kororima (Loc)

Abesha Timiz (Loc)

Dry Ginger (lo

c)

Black cumin (lo

c)

Chilies (loc)

Dry Basil (

loc)

Tumeric (loc)

Wet Ginger (loc)

Timiz can be gathered throughout of the year in small quantities but the main harvesting

period occurs from September to November Price of timiz is strongly linked to this

seasonality As showed by the graph below the selling price in Bonga is low during the

harvesting period and increase slowly from November to August

631 THE VARIATION OF THE PRICE IS LINKED TO THE HARVESTING SEASON SO WHY FARMERS SELL IT AT THIS TIME

Timiz price during the harvest time is low and farmers do not keep their

production to wait a better season because during the harvest time of timiz it is the end

of the enseumlt reserve and farmers start to bridge the gap so need cash crop to buy some

food It is also in this period they have to pay governmental taxes

In December and January and also in April demand is high because of numerous

religious ceremonies So wholesalers prefer to buy timiz in the harvest season and stock

it

It is possible also to gather timiz all around the year thanks to the long raining season

but quality and quantities are lower and just permit to earn fews birrs

50

Illustration 27 Prices given to farmers from sept06 to sept 08 (data Farmers 2008 prodAvril 2008)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

sept-

06

nov-0

6

janv-0

7

mars-07

mai-07

juil-0

7

sept-

07

nov-0

7

janv-0

8

mars-08

mai-08

juil-0

8

sept-

08

ETB

kg

632 EVOLUTION OF PRICES ALONG THE VALUE CHAIN

We have seen the evolution of the price during the year and we are going to take one

example to show the fluctuation along the value chain

So in October a farmer sell his timiz from 5 to 7 ETBkg to the farmer-collector

or urban collector The last one will sell it to wholesaler in the production site from 8 to

10 ETBkg Whom will sell it to wholesaler in Addis one kilo from13 to 15 ETBkg In

Addis they sell it to retailers from 15 to 18 ETBkg Consumers will buy it from 20 to

22 in Merkato retailers and to 50ETBkg in others places

51

Illustration 28 Data synthesis Pedo climatic prices events (Avril 2008)

Brokers salary comes from both parts (buyer and seller) at contract price without

reference at variation price Each part gives him 2ETBquintal So for one quintal he

will earn 4 ETB

All transport lsquos expenses from Bonga area to Addis are charged by wholesalers from the

production area Here is an estimation of their costs

- Renting the Isuzu 2000 ETB

- Fuel 600 ETB

- Salary of an employee 200 ETBmonth

- Trade Taxes 1400 ETB

It seems important to remember that an Isuzu going to Addis is never full of

timiz It represents between 5 to 10 of the freight So all these costs must be reparteed

with kororima trade If we make a prorate of costs only for timiz costs should be

between 200 to 500 ETB travel Big wholesalers can have their proper Isuzu and make

around two travels per month Little wholesalers regroup them by three or four and rent

an Isuzu They make also one to two travels per month

633 PAYMENT MEANS amp COMPETITION

Most of transactions are made by cash excepted the transfer between the broker

and wholesalers made by the bank Generally no advance by money is made the only

52

Illustration 29 Timiz buying prices along the value chain (data VC actors prodAvril2008)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Farmer-colUrban-col to FarmersZonal Wholesaler to Farmer-

Addis Wholesaler to Zonal Wholesaler Retailers to Addis Wholesaler

Addis consumers to Merkato RetailersAddis consumers to others Retailers

Others tow ns consumers to Retailers

ETBkg Minimum

Maximum

case is between farmers-collectors and farmers in the production area

Transparency on prices is subjective but the Central Statistic Agency make report each

month on prices evolution for every product Reports are available at the library of the

Agency It seems important to note that reports contain numerous mistakes and so data

on timiz are not so reliable In the spice sector Timiz can be subject to compete

because of numerous spices found in Ethiopia In the pepper branch it is possible to

find

ndash black pepper in seed

ndash black pepper in powder

ndash timiz

ndash Indian long pepper

Black pepper and long pepper do not have the same use So timiz from Bonga is in

competition with timiz from Dawero but quantities are weak So the bigger rival is the

farenji timiz Abesha timiz has a strong advantage because it is not subject to such

important taxes as farenji timiz As a consequence abesha timiz is well appreciate by

consumers because of its price

64 A MARKETING SYSTEM TO BE IMPROVED

A study on spice sector made by Caroline Brunet in 2007 gives generals remarks

on spice sector and they are transferable to the particular situation of timiz farmers

unaware about market requirements too many middlemen for such a little supply chain

no quality control no certification no cooperatives no research at allhellipthe marketing

system stills very informal and could be developed on several points

However timiz can have a particular place in Ethiopian culture Found in a special

environment (wild coffee forest) used in many mains dishes Most of associations or

NGOsrsquo interviewed for this study were interested even if it is not their first

preoccupation in promoted timiz typical product from an unique ecosystem important

to be protected Timiz is not well known outside of Ethiopians boundaries but with a

53

coherent step the demand from foreigns countries can be created as we have seen with

investors who are going to export it to Japon and USA We can mentioned also the new

export step this year which can reflect a new demand and a new market

There is no data on farenji timiz importations so it is not possible to link the

augmentation of local production to a decrease of importation

7 ASSESSMENT OF THE PRODUCT AS A GI CANDIDATE

Aspects Advantages WeaknessesBiodiversity -Timiz is gathered in a unique

ecosystem (coffee forest)in only one place in Ethiopia- Natural resource-Only local variety is avaible-Produced without chemical inputs

- Wild timiz do not always good quality- Domestication can break links with this unique ecosystem but can improve quality

Production -Local production with local variety-No expensive inputs are required- Traditional knowledge with recent experiences- Geographical areas of production can be easily delimit - Until now small production but most of fruits were wild so possibility to increase production

- Farmers are not aware of consumers and market requirements- Production can be irregular and weak- Production highly depending of the season and climatic data- Small quantities

Processing -Traditional processing made only by local people-Smoking process is typical from Kaffa area- Not expensive drying process- Possibility to generalise sun drying method

- Process is not made in the way consumers want it- No homogeneity in drying method (time drying method)- Farmers do not make quality differences between drying methods- Smoking method has not a very good reputation but farmers used it- No research has been done on processing methods-Farmers of the zone do not use timiz so do not know the importance

54

of good qualityTrade - Cooperatives or association of

persons are more and more promoted- value chain well organised for such small quantity- good trust between actors in little scale (in direct contact) possibility of discussion and amelioration- Possibility to find timiz in every Ethiopian towns

- No cooperatives specialised on spices- Farmers just start to trust in cooperatives- Farmers are not aware of market requirements (out of the value chain)- No quality standards and no quality control- No traceability- Poor infrastructures- No especially knowledge of the production area- No legal protection

Product -Timiz is linked with national traditions- Used for years by Ethiopian people- Different use not only for cooking

- Timiz is not linked with local culture and tradition-Not a high reputation as others products- Not easy to found outside of market places- No packaging

Domestic consumers

-Most of Ethiopian people no more or less the origin of timiz- Ethiopian people accept to pay a higher price for quality products- Ethiopian people recognize quality without certification-Interest in good products- Ethiopian people know about fair trade and organic labels

- Low purchasing power of most of the population prevents development of price premium- Ethiopian people are not aware of GI notions

Foreign consumers

-Possible potential for export - Small quantity-Irregular quality and careful less on quality

General context

-NGOs are working on improvement of agricultural practices and value chain

- No interest by the Government on this product- No research has yet been done by the public sector (production consumption)- More interested by food security and export products (flowers oilseeds)- NGOs do not focus on timiz but more on coffee and kororima

55

- Public persons have very limited knowledge on GI concept-No quality standard and control

Social - Large scale of people dealing with timiz- With such a little production timiz can give good benefits and if it is not the first preoccupation of actors in the value chain everybody have a little interest for this spice

- Not enough production to interest more people

This summering table for possibilities to timiz to be a GI candidate shows advantages

and weaknesses of the product Most of weaknesses are not restrictive and can be easily

overcome But an important work needs to be done

After the description of the value chain it is possible to say that the bottleneck seems to

be in the production There is a demand by consumers which lets think that the

production can be increased and sold

56

Conclusion

The spice sector is small and poorly organised in comparison to others Ethiopian

sectors The timiz sector has small quantities no processing factories no cooperatives

and also no research and support by the government But it has high potentialities Timiz

is strongly linked to a territory and a special biodiversity as well as Ethiopian culture

and people It is a good source of income and a added-value sector It makes sense to

develop this product for domestic and also international markets

However some changes have to be done to increase the building capacities of various

intermediaries but also in technical terms with a development of traceability and quality

controls

Timiz is a typical product strongly linked to the area of production in terms of natural

and human environment The natural biodiversity of Kaffa zone and the specific

conditions provided by the coffee forest is the natural environment for timiz It is

produced thanks to the Kafinian traditional knowledge and can be a representation of

Ethiopian culture and tradition

Economically timiz supports an important part of the income of various people and is

one of the most important spice of Ethiopia However the value chain present several

weaknesses and stills badly distributed in terms of quality and quantity Farmers

organisation are weak and informations about market requirements still limited

Ameliorations possibilities they could get from certification are not evaluated Efforts

are essentially to strengthen producers organization and to improve the value chain

Few operators are aware of certification like organic or fair trade but nobody really

knows about GI certification Some consumers can be ready to pay premium for quality

but it is not the general thinking The commerce is based on trust and personal relations

what can permit a good transmission of informations

57

Illustrations TableTableau 1 Several names for one spice (Edwards S amp al2000)2Illustration 1 Farenji timiz amp Abesha timiz (Avril2008) 3Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998) 4Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)5Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008) 6Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)6Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000) 7Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008) 9Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)9Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)10Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008) 11Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008) 12Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008) 12Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008) 13Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 11 Measure unit on market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)14Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) 14Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)15Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)17Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)19Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)25Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008) 27Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)27Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008) 32Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)34Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)36Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)45Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008) 47Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)48Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008) 48Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008)) 49Illustration 27 Prices given to farmers from sept06 to sept 08 (data Farmers 2008 prodAvril 2008) 50Illustration 28 Data synthesis Pedo climatic prices events (Avril 2008)51Illustration 29 Timiz buying prices along the value chain (data VC actors prodAvril2008) 52

58

Bibliographies

Azene Bekele-Tesemma Birnie A et Bo Tegnas 1999 Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia Identification propagation and management for agriculture and pastoral communities Technical Handbook Ndeg 5 SIDArsquos Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU) Nairobi Kenya

Bareaud M 2007 laquo Analyse-Diagnostic dune petite reacutegion agricole du Sud-Ouest de lEthiopie (WishWish Zone Kafa) raquo DAA developpement agricoleAgroPArisTech77p

Briggs P 2006 laquo Ethiopia the bradt travel guide raquo fourth edition England 600p

BrunetC2007 The Ethiopian Spice Sector A study case on kororima (Aframomum

Kororima) Internal report Project Home Gardens of Ethiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia

CSA ECRI IFPRI 2006 Atlas of Ethiopian Rural Economy Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data98p

CSA2007 Report on monthly average retail prices of goods and services from 395 to 422 statistical bulletin Pages 157-163 Addis Ababa Central Statistics Agency

Cochet H 2007 Recherches en cours sur les systegravemes agro-forestiers agrave cafeacute dans le Sud-Ouest eacutethiopien (Bonga) Rapport de mission Agroparistech

ErsadoM 2001 laquo Inventory of Woody Species in Bonga Forest raquo Institue of Biodiversity Conservation and ResearchTechnical Report Ndeg1 Addis Abeba

Edward S Tadesse M Demissew S Hedberg I 2000 laquo Flora of Ethiopia amp Eritrea Volume 2 part 1 Magnoliace to flacourtiace raquo Addis Ababa Ethiopia-Uppsala Sweden National Herbarium (Ethiopia) p 59-64

Farm Africa Sos Sahel 2004 Commercialization of spices in Bonga Project profile12p

Gascon A 1995 Les enjeux fonciers en Ethiopie et Erythreacutee De lrsquoAncien Reacutegime agrave la Reacutevolution In Blanc-Pamard C et Cambreacutezy L (coordination) Terre terroir territoire les tensions fonciegraveres ORSTOMCEA-URA94 Coll Colloques et Seacuteminaires Paris

KochharSL 1998 laquo Economic botany in the tropics raquo second edition Departugraveent of Botany Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College University of Delhi 604p

MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000 Essentials oils from four Piper species Cited in

website of Direct Science

59

httpwwwsciencedirectcomscience_ob=ArticleURLamp_udi=B6TH7-40M54TJ-

10amp_user=10amp_rdoc=1amp_fmt=amp_orig=searchamp_sort=dampview=camp_version=1amp_urlVe

rsion=0amp_userid=10ampmd5=2e95df5da36a2e6c51bcd5f9dd96c7d8

Planel S 2003 Le Wolaita identiteacute et territoire recompositions spatiales et identitaires drsquoune reacutegion du sud eacutethiopien Thegravese de doctorat Universiteacute de Paris I Pantheacuteon Sorbonne Paris

RousselBVerdeauxF2003 Patrimoine naturel et communauteacutes locales en Ethiopie Avantages et limites dun systegraveme dIndications Geacuteographies Proteacutegeacutees Paper presented at the 29th Annual Spring Symposium of Center for African Studies University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Stellmacher T 2005 Traditional property rights and their influence on forest ressource utilisation in Ethiopia Paper presented at the Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development Stuttgart

60

Materials Table1Several names for one spice2 1 Description and distinctiveness of the product 3 11 Timiz and the Indian Long black pepper 3 12 Europe and the long black pepper 413 Description of the product4131 Botanical description 4132 Chemical description 614 Quality and Origin seen by the value-chain actors 7141 Quality concerns 7142 Demand for quality 10143 Way of selling timiz13 2 Area of production 14 21 Administrative unit region zone woreda kebele 16 22 Mapping 16 23 Cultural categorization of space local divisions of space 17 3 Environment and biodiversity18 31 General description of the environment18 32 Relief 19 33 The Bonga Forest amp biodiversity associated with the timiz 20 34 History of the zone amp demographical data 21 35 Ecological distribution and requirement 22 4 Production 23 41 Production process and actors23 411 General data on production 23 412 Plant development23 42 Typologies of the producers 25 43 Dryness process 27 431 Actors of the drying process 28 44 Impacts on quality29 45 Organization of producers29 46 Categorisation of the resources 30 47 Economic dimensions at the farm and local level31 5 Tradition and innovation31 51 Cultural inscription the history of the product uses practices31 511 Medical use 32 512 Cooking use 33 513 Other use 33 52 Patrimonalization heritage dimensions 34 53 Recent changes innovations 34 6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production 35 61 Presentation of the value chain 35 611 Function and role of every actor of the value chain36 612 Purchasing motivation and importance of the origin for the actors of the value

61

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62

632 EVOLUTION OF PRICES ALONG THE VALUE CHAIN

We have seen the evolution of the price during the year and we are going to take one

example to show the fluctuation along the value chain

So in October a farmer sell his timiz from 5 to 7 ETBkg to the farmer-collector

or urban collector The last one will sell it to wholesaler in the production site from 8 to

10 ETBkg Whom will sell it to wholesaler in Addis one kilo from13 to 15 ETBkg In

Addis they sell it to retailers from 15 to 18 ETBkg Consumers will buy it from 20 to

22 in Merkato retailers and to 50ETBkg in others places

51

Illustration 28 Data synthesis Pedo climatic prices events (Avril 2008)

Brokers salary comes from both parts (buyer and seller) at contract price without

reference at variation price Each part gives him 2ETBquintal So for one quintal he

will earn 4 ETB

All transport lsquos expenses from Bonga area to Addis are charged by wholesalers from the

production area Here is an estimation of their costs

- Renting the Isuzu 2000 ETB

- Fuel 600 ETB

- Salary of an employee 200 ETBmonth

- Trade Taxes 1400 ETB

It seems important to remember that an Isuzu going to Addis is never full of

timiz It represents between 5 to 10 of the freight So all these costs must be reparteed

with kororima trade If we make a prorate of costs only for timiz costs should be

between 200 to 500 ETB travel Big wholesalers can have their proper Isuzu and make

around two travels per month Little wholesalers regroup them by three or four and rent

an Isuzu They make also one to two travels per month

633 PAYMENT MEANS amp COMPETITION

Most of transactions are made by cash excepted the transfer between the broker

and wholesalers made by the bank Generally no advance by money is made the only

52

Illustration 29 Timiz buying prices along the value chain (data VC actors prodAvril2008)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Farmer-colUrban-col to FarmersZonal Wholesaler to Farmer-

Addis Wholesaler to Zonal Wholesaler Retailers to Addis Wholesaler

Addis consumers to Merkato RetailersAddis consumers to others Retailers

Others tow ns consumers to Retailers

ETBkg Minimum

Maximum

case is between farmers-collectors and farmers in the production area

Transparency on prices is subjective but the Central Statistic Agency make report each

month on prices evolution for every product Reports are available at the library of the

Agency It seems important to note that reports contain numerous mistakes and so data

on timiz are not so reliable In the spice sector Timiz can be subject to compete

because of numerous spices found in Ethiopia In the pepper branch it is possible to

find

ndash black pepper in seed

ndash black pepper in powder

ndash timiz

ndash Indian long pepper

Black pepper and long pepper do not have the same use So timiz from Bonga is in

competition with timiz from Dawero but quantities are weak So the bigger rival is the

farenji timiz Abesha timiz has a strong advantage because it is not subject to such

important taxes as farenji timiz As a consequence abesha timiz is well appreciate by

consumers because of its price

64 A MARKETING SYSTEM TO BE IMPROVED

A study on spice sector made by Caroline Brunet in 2007 gives generals remarks

on spice sector and they are transferable to the particular situation of timiz farmers

unaware about market requirements too many middlemen for such a little supply chain

no quality control no certification no cooperatives no research at allhellipthe marketing

system stills very informal and could be developed on several points

However timiz can have a particular place in Ethiopian culture Found in a special

environment (wild coffee forest) used in many mains dishes Most of associations or

NGOsrsquo interviewed for this study were interested even if it is not their first

preoccupation in promoted timiz typical product from an unique ecosystem important

to be protected Timiz is not well known outside of Ethiopians boundaries but with a

53

coherent step the demand from foreigns countries can be created as we have seen with

investors who are going to export it to Japon and USA We can mentioned also the new

export step this year which can reflect a new demand and a new market

There is no data on farenji timiz importations so it is not possible to link the

augmentation of local production to a decrease of importation

7 ASSESSMENT OF THE PRODUCT AS A GI CANDIDATE

Aspects Advantages WeaknessesBiodiversity -Timiz is gathered in a unique

ecosystem (coffee forest)in only one place in Ethiopia- Natural resource-Only local variety is avaible-Produced without chemical inputs

- Wild timiz do not always good quality- Domestication can break links with this unique ecosystem but can improve quality

Production -Local production with local variety-No expensive inputs are required- Traditional knowledge with recent experiences- Geographical areas of production can be easily delimit - Until now small production but most of fruits were wild so possibility to increase production

- Farmers are not aware of consumers and market requirements- Production can be irregular and weak- Production highly depending of the season and climatic data- Small quantities

Processing -Traditional processing made only by local people-Smoking process is typical from Kaffa area- Not expensive drying process- Possibility to generalise sun drying method

- Process is not made in the way consumers want it- No homogeneity in drying method (time drying method)- Farmers do not make quality differences between drying methods- Smoking method has not a very good reputation but farmers used it- No research has been done on processing methods-Farmers of the zone do not use timiz so do not know the importance

54

of good qualityTrade - Cooperatives or association of

persons are more and more promoted- value chain well organised for such small quantity- good trust between actors in little scale (in direct contact) possibility of discussion and amelioration- Possibility to find timiz in every Ethiopian towns

- No cooperatives specialised on spices- Farmers just start to trust in cooperatives- Farmers are not aware of market requirements (out of the value chain)- No quality standards and no quality control- No traceability- Poor infrastructures- No especially knowledge of the production area- No legal protection

Product -Timiz is linked with national traditions- Used for years by Ethiopian people- Different use not only for cooking

- Timiz is not linked with local culture and tradition-Not a high reputation as others products- Not easy to found outside of market places- No packaging

Domestic consumers

-Most of Ethiopian people no more or less the origin of timiz- Ethiopian people accept to pay a higher price for quality products- Ethiopian people recognize quality without certification-Interest in good products- Ethiopian people know about fair trade and organic labels

- Low purchasing power of most of the population prevents development of price premium- Ethiopian people are not aware of GI notions

Foreign consumers

-Possible potential for export - Small quantity-Irregular quality and careful less on quality

General context

-NGOs are working on improvement of agricultural practices and value chain

- No interest by the Government on this product- No research has yet been done by the public sector (production consumption)- More interested by food security and export products (flowers oilseeds)- NGOs do not focus on timiz but more on coffee and kororima

55

- Public persons have very limited knowledge on GI concept-No quality standard and control

Social - Large scale of people dealing with timiz- With such a little production timiz can give good benefits and if it is not the first preoccupation of actors in the value chain everybody have a little interest for this spice

- Not enough production to interest more people

This summering table for possibilities to timiz to be a GI candidate shows advantages

and weaknesses of the product Most of weaknesses are not restrictive and can be easily

overcome But an important work needs to be done

After the description of the value chain it is possible to say that the bottleneck seems to

be in the production There is a demand by consumers which lets think that the

production can be increased and sold

56

Conclusion

The spice sector is small and poorly organised in comparison to others Ethiopian

sectors The timiz sector has small quantities no processing factories no cooperatives

and also no research and support by the government But it has high potentialities Timiz

is strongly linked to a territory and a special biodiversity as well as Ethiopian culture

and people It is a good source of income and a added-value sector It makes sense to

develop this product for domestic and also international markets

However some changes have to be done to increase the building capacities of various

intermediaries but also in technical terms with a development of traceability and quality

controls

Timiz is a typical product strongly linked to the area of production in terms of natural

and human environment The natural biodiversity of Kaffa zone and the specific

conditions provided by the coffee forest is the natural environment for timiz It is

produced thanks to the Kafinian traditional knowledge and can be a representation of

Ethiopian culture and tradition

Economically timiz supports an important part of the income of various people and is

one of the most important spice of Ethiopia However the value chain present several

weaknesses and stills badly distributed in terms of quality and quantity Farmers

organisation are weak and informations about market requirements still limited

Ameliorations possibilities they could get from certification are not evaluated Efforts

are essentially to strengthen producers organization and to improve the value chain

Few operators are aware of certification like organic or fair trade but nobody really

knows about GI certification Some consumers can be ready to pay premium for quality

but it is not the general thinking The commerce is based on trust and personal relations

what can permit a good transmission of informations

57

Illustrations TableTableau 1 Several names for one spice (Edwards S amp al2000)2Illustration 1 Farenji timiz amp Abesha timiz (Avril2008) 3Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998) 4Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)5Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008) 6Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)6Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000) 7Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008) 9Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)9Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)10Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008) 11Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008) 12Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008) 12Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008) 13Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 11 Measure unit on market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)14Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) 14Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)15Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)17Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)19Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)25Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008) 27Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)27Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008) 32Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)34Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)36Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)45Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008) 47Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)48Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008) 48Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008)) 49Illustration 27 Prices given to farmers from sept06 to sept 08 (data Farmers 2008 prodAvril 2008) 50Illustration 28 Data synthesis Pedo climatic prices events (Avril 2008)51Illustration 29 Timiz buying prices along the value chain (data VC actors prodAvril2008) 52

58

Bibliographies

Azene Bekele-Tesemma Birnie A et Bo Tegnas 1999 Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia Identification propagation and management for agriculture and pastoral communities Technical Handbook Ndeg 5 SIDArsquos Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU) Nairobi Kenya

Bareaud M 2007 laquo Analyse-Diagnostic dune petite reacutegion agricole du Sud-Ouest de lEthiopie (WishWish Zone Kafa) raquo DAA developpement agricoleAgroPArisTech77p

Briggs P 2006 laquo Ethiopia the bradt travel guide raquo fourth edition England 600p

BrunetC2007 The Ethiopian Spice Sector A study case on kororima (Aframomum

Kororima) Internal report Project Home Gardens of Ethiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia

CSA ECRI IFPRI 2006 Atlas of Ethiopian Rural Economy Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data98p

CSA2007 Report on monthly average retail prices of goods and services from 395 to 422 statistical bulletin Pages 157-163 Addis Ababa Central Statistics Agency

Cochet H 2007 Recherches en cours sur les systegravemes agro-forestiers agrave cafeacute dans le Sud-Ouest eacutethiopien (Bonga) Rapport de mission Agroparistech

ErsadoM 2001 laquo Inventory of Woody Species in Bonga Forest raquo Institue of Biodiversity Conservation and ResearchTechnical Report Ndeg1 Addis Abeba

Edward S Tadesse M Demissew S Hedberg I 2000 laquo Flora of Ethiopia amp Eritrea Volume 2 part 1 Magnoliace to flacourtiace raquo Addis Ababa Ethiopia-Uppsala Sweden National Herbarium (Ethiopia) p 59-64

Farm Africa Sos Sahel 2004 Commercialization of spices in Bonga Project profile12p

Gascon A 1995 Les enjeux fonciers en Ethiopie et Erythreacutee De lrsquoAncien Reacutegime agrave la Reacutevolution In Blanc-Pamard C et Cambreacutezy L (coordination) Terre terroir territoire les tensions fonciegraveres ORSTOMCEA-URA94 Coll Colloques et Seacuteminaires Paris

KochharSL 1998 laquo Economic botany in the tropics raquo second edition Departugraveent of Botany Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College University of Delhi 604p

MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000 Essentials oils from four Piper species Cited in

website of Direct Science

59

httpwwwsciencedirectcomscience_ob=ArticleURLamp_udi=B6TH7-40M54TJ-

10amp_user=10amp_rdoc=1amp_fmt=amp_orig=searchamp_sort=dampview=camp_version=1amp_urlVe

rsion=0amp_userid=10ampmd5=2e95df5da36a2e6c51bcd5f9dd96c7d8

Planel S 2003 Le Wolaita identiteacute et territoire recompositions spatiales et identitaires drsquoune reacutegion du sud eacutethiopien Thegravese de doctorat Universiteacute de Paris I Pantheacuteon Sorbonne Paris

RousselBVerdeauxF2003 Patrimoine naturel et communauteacutes locales en Ethiopie Avantages et limites dun systegraveme dIndications Geacuteographies Proteacutegeacutees Paper presented at the 29th Annual Spring Symposium of Center for African Studies University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Stellmacher T 2005 Traditional property rights and their influence on forest ressource utilisation in Ethiopia Paper presented at the Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development Stuttgart

60

Materials Table1Several names for one spice2 1 Description and distinctiveness of the product 3 11 Timiz and the Indian Long black pepper 3 12 Europe and the long black pepper 413 Description of the product4131 Botanical description 4132 Chemical description 614 Quality and Origin seen by the value-chain actors 7141 Quality concerns 7142 Demand for quality 10143 Way of selling timiz13 2 Area of production 14 21 Administrative unit region zone woreda kebele 16 22 Mapping 16 23 Cultural categorization of space local divisions of space 17 3 Environment and biodiversity18 31 General description of the environment18 32 Relief 19 33 The Bonga Forest amp biodiversity associated with the timiz 20 34 History of the zone amp demographical data 21 35 Ecological distribution and requirement 22 4 Production 23 41 Production process and actors23 411 General data on production 23 412 Plant development23 42 Typologies of the producers 25 43 Dryness process 27 431 Actors of the drying process 28 44 Impacts on quality29 45 Organization of producers29 46 Categorisation of the resources 30 47 Economic dimensions at the farm and local level31 5 Tradition and innovation31 51 Cultural inscription the history of the product uses practices31 511 Medical use 32 512 Cooking use 33 513 Other use 33 52 Patrimonalization heritage dimensions 34 53 Recent changes innovations 34 6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production 35 61 Presentation of the value chain 35 611 Function and role of every actor of the value chain36 612 Purchasing motivation and importance of the origin for the actors of the value

61

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62

Brokers salary comes from both parts (buyer and seller) at contract price without

reference at variation price Each part gives him 2ETBquintal So for one quintal he

will earn 4 ETB

All transport lsquos expenses from Bonga area to Addis are charged by wholesalers from the

production area Here is an estimation of their costs

- Renting the Isuzu 2000 ETB

- Fuel 600 ETB

- Salary of an employee 200 ETBmonth

- Trade Taxes 1400 ETB

It seems important to remember that an Isuzu going to Addis is never full of

timiz It represents between 5 to 10 of the freight So all these costs must be reparteed

with kororima trade If we make a prorate of costs only for timiz costs should be

between 200 to 500 ETB travel Big wholesalers can have their proper Isuzu and make

around two travels per month Little wholesalers regroup them by three or four and rent

an Isuzu They make also one to two travels per month

633 PAYMENT MEANS amp COMPETITION

Most of transactions are made by cash excepted the transfer between the broker

and wholesalers made by the bank Generally no advance by money is made the only

52

Illustration 29 Timiz buying prices along the value chain (data VC actors prodAvril2008)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Farmer-colUrban-col to FarmersZonal Wholesaler to Farmer-

Addis Wholesaler to Zonal Wholesaler Retailers to Addis Wholesaler

Addis consumers to Merkato RetailersAddis consumers to others Retailers

Others tow ns consumers to Retailers

ETBkg Minimum

Maximum

case is between farmers-collectors and farmers in the production area

Transparency on prices is subjective but the Central Statistic Agency make report each

month on prices evolution for every product Reports are available at the library of the

Agency It seems important to note that reports contain numerous mistakes and so data

on timiz are not so reliable In the spice sector Timiz can be subject to compete

because of numerous spices found in Ethiopia In the pepper branch it is possible to

find

ndash black pepper in seed

ndash black pepper in powder

ndash timiz

ndash Indian long pepper

Black pepper and long pepper do not have the same use So timiz from Bonga is in

competition with timiz from Dawero but quantities are weak So the bigger rival is the

farenji timiz Abesha timiz has a strong advantage because it is not subject to such

important taxes as farenji timiz As a consequence abesha timiz is well appreciate by

consumers because of its price

64 A MARKETING SYSTEM TO BE IMPROVED

A study on spice sector made by Caroline Brunet in 2007 gives generals remarks

on spice sector and they are transferable to the particular situation of timiz farmers

unaware about market requirements too many middlemen for such a little supply chain

no quality control no certification no cooperatives no research at allhellipthe marketing

system stills very informal and could be developed on several points

However timiz can have a particular place in Ethiopian culture Found in a special

environment (wild coffee forest) used in many mains dishes Most of associations or

NGOsrsquo interviewed for this study were interested even if it is not their first

preoccupation in promoted timiz typical product from an unique ecosystem important

to be protected Timiz is not well known outside of Ethiopians boundaries but with a

53

coherent step the demand from foreigns countries can be created as we have seen with

investors who are going to export it to Japon and USA We can mentioned also the new

export step this year which can reflect a new demand and a new market

There is no data on farenji timiz importations so it is not possible to link the

augmentation of local production to a decrease of importation

7 ASSESSMENT OF THE PRODUCT AS A GI CANDIDATE

Aspects Advantages WeaknessesBiodiversity -Timiz is gathered in a unique

ecosystem (coffee forest)in only one place in Ethiopia- Natural resource-Only local variety is avaible-Produced without chemical inputs

- Wild timiz do not always good quality- Domestication can break links with this unique ecosystem but can improve quality

Production -Local production with local variety-No expensive inputs are required- Traditional knowledge with recent experiences- Geographical areas of production can be easily delimit - Until now small production but most of fruits were wild so possibility to increase production

- Farmers are not aware of consumers and market requirements- Production can be irregular and weak- Production highly depending of the season and climatic data- Small quantities

Processing -Traditional processing made only by local people-Smoking process is typical from Kaffa area- Not expensive drying process- Possibility to generalise sun drying method

- Process is not made in the way consumers want it- No homogeneity in drying method (time drying method)- Farmers do not make quality differences between drying methods- Smoking method has not a very good reputation but farmers used it- No research has been done on processing methods-Farmers of the zone do not use timiz so do not know the importance

54

of good qualityTrade - Cooperatives or association of

persons are more and more promoted- value chain well organised for such small quantity- good trust between actors in little scale (in direct contact) possibility of discussion and amelioration- Possibility to find timiz in every Ethiopian towns

- No cooperatives specialised on spices- Farmers just start to trust in cooperatives- Farmers are not aware of market requirements (out of the value chain)- No quality standards and no quality control- No traceability- Poor infrastructures- No especially knowledge of the production area- No legal protection

Product -Timiz is linked with national traditions- Used for years by Ethiopian people- Different use not only for cooking

- Timiz is not linked with local culture and tradition-Not a high reputation as others products- Not easy to found outside of market places- No packaging

Domestic consumers

-Most of Ethiopian people no more or less the origin of timiz- Ethiopian people accept to pay a higher price for quality products- Ethiopian people recognize quality without certification-Interest in good products- Ethiopian people know about fair trade and organic labels

- Low purchasing power of most of the population prevents development of price premium- Ethiopian people are not aware of GI notions

Foreign consumers

-Possible potential for export - Small quantity-Irregular quality and careful less on quality

General context

-NGOs are working on improvement of agricultural practices and value chain

- No interest by the Government on this product- No research has yet been done by the public sector (production consumption)- More interested by food security and export products (flowers oilseeds)- NGOs do not focus on timiz but more on coffee and kororima

55

- Public persons have very limited knowledge on GI concept-No quality standard and control

Social - Large scale of people dealing with timiz- With such a little production timiz can give good benefits and if it is not the first preoccupation of actors in the value chain everybody have a little interest for this spice

- Not enough production to interest more people

This summering table for possibilities to timiz to be a GI candidate shows advantages

and weaknesses of the product Most of weaknesses are not restrictive and can be easily

overcome But an important work needs to be done

After the description of the value chain it is possible to say that the bottleneck seems to

be in the production There is a demand by consumers which lets think that the

production can be increased and sold

56

Conclusion

The spice sector is small and poorly organised in comparison to others Ethiopian

sectors The timiz sector has small quantities no processing factories no cooperatives

and also no research and support by the government But it has high potentialities Timiz

is strongly linked to a territory and a special biodiversity as well as Ethiopian culture

and people It is a good source of income and a added-value sector It makes sense to

develop this product for domestic and also international markets

However some changes have to be done to increase the building capacities of various

intermediaries but also in technical terms with a development of traceability and quality

controls

Timiz is a typical product strongly linked to the area of production in terms of natural

and human environment The natural biodiversity of Kaffa zone and the specific

conditions provided by the coffee forest is the natural environment for timiz It is

produced thanks to the Kafinian traditional knowledge and can be a representation of

Ethiopian culture and tradition

Economically timiz supports an important part of the income of various people and is

one of the most important spice of Ethiopia However the value chain present several

weaknesses and stills badly distributed in terms of quality and quantity Farmers

organisation are weak and informations about market requirements still limited

Ameliorations possibilities they could get from certification are not evaluated Efforts

are essentially to strengthen producers organization and to improve the value chain

Few operators are aware of certification like organic or fair trade but nobody really

knows about GI certification Some consumers can be ready to pay premium for quality

but it is not the general thinking The commerce is based on trust and personal relations

what can permit a good transmission of informations

57

Illustrations TableTableau 1 Several names for one spice (Edwards S amp al2000)2Illustration 1 Farenji timiz amp Abesha timiz (Avril2008) 3Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998) 4Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)5Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008) 6Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)6Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000) 7Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008) 9Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)9Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)10Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008) 11Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008) 12Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008) 12Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008) 13Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 11 Measure unit on market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)14Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) 14Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)15Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)17Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)19Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)25Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008) 27Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)27Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008) 32Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)34Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)36Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)45Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008) 47Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)48Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008) 48Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008)) 49Illustration 27 Prices given to farmers from sept06 to sept 08 (data Farmers 2008 prodAvril 2008) 50Illustration 28 Data synthesis Pedo climatic prices events (Avril 2008)51Illustration 29 Timiz buying prices along the value chain (data VC actors prodAvril2008) 52

58

Bibliographies

Azene Bekele-Tesemma Birnie A et Bo Tegnas 1999 Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia Identification propagation and management for agriculture and pastoral communities Technical Handbook Ndeg 5 SIDArsquos Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU) Nairobi Kenya

Bareaud M 2007 laquo Analyse-Diagnostic dune petite reacutegion agricole du Sud-Ouest de lEthiopie (WishWish Zone Kafa) raquo DAA developpement agricoleAgroPArisTech77p

Briggs P 2006 laquo Ethiopia the bradt travel guide raquo fourth edition England 600p

BrunetC2007 The Ethiopian Spice Sector A study case on kororima (Aframomum

Kororima) Internal report Project Home Gardens of Ethiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia

CSA ECRI IFPRI 2006 Atlas of Ethiopian Rural Economy Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data98p

CSA2007 Report on monthly average retail prices of goods and services from 395 to 422 statistical bulletin Pages 157-163 Addis Ababa Central Statistics Agency

Cochet H 2007 Recherches en cours sur les systegravemes agro-forestiers agrave cafeacute dans le Sud-Ouest eacutethiopien (Bonga) Rapport de mission Agroparistech

ErsadoM 2001 laquo Inventory of Woody Species in Bonga Forest raquo Institue of Biodiversity Conservation and ResearchTechnical Report Ndeg1 Addis Abeba

Edward S Tadesse M Demissew S Hedberg I 2000 laquo Flora of Ethiopia amp Eritrea Volume 2 part 1 Magnoliace to flacourtiace raquo Addis Ababa Ethiopia-Uppsala Sweden National Herbarium (Ethiopia) p 59-64

Farm Africa Sos Sahel 2004 Commercialization of spices in Bonga Project profile12p

Gascon A 1995 Les enjeux fonciers en Ethiopie et Erythreacutee De lrsquoAncien Reacutegime agrave la Reacutevolution In Blanc-Pamard C et Cambreacutezy L (coordination) Terre terroir territoire les tensions fonciegraveres ORSTOMCEA-URA94 Coll Colloques et Seacuteminaires Paris

KochharSL 1998 laquo Economic botany in the tropics raquo second edition Departugraveent of Botany Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College University of Delhi 604p

MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000 Essentials oils from four Piper species Cited in

website of Direct Science

59

httpwwwsciencedirectcomscience_ob=ArticleURLamp_udi=B6TH7-40M54TJ-

10amp_user=10amp_rdoc=1amp_fmt=amp_orig=searchamp_sort=dampview=camp_version=1amp_urlVe

rsion=0amp_userid=10ampmd5=2e95df5da36a2e6c51bcd5f9dd96c7d8

Planel S 2003 Le Wolaita identiteacute et territoire recompositions spatiales et identitaires drsquoune reacutegion du sud eacutethiopien Thegravese de doctorat Universiteacute de Paris I Pantheacuteon Sorbonne Paris

RousselBVerdeauxF2003 Patrimoine naturel et communauteacutes locales en Ethiopie Avantages et limites dun systegraveme dIndications Geacuteographies Proteacutegeacutees Paper presented at the 29th Annual Spring Symposium of Center for African Studies University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Stellmacher T 2005 Traditional property rights and their influence on forest ressource utilisation in Ethiopia Paper presented at the Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development Stuttgart

60

Materials Table1Several names for one spice2 1 Description and distinctiveness of the product 3 11 Timiz and the Indian Long black pepper 3 12 Europe and the long black pepper 413 Description of the product4131 Botanical description 4132 Chemical description 614 Quality and Origin seen by the value-chain actors 7141 Quality concerns 7142 Demand for quality 10143 Way of selling timiz13 2 Area of production 14 21 Administrative unit region zone woreda kebele 16 22 Mapping 16 23 Cultural categorization of space local divisions of space 17 3 Environment and biodiversity18 31 General description of the environment18 32 Relief 19 33 The Bonga Forest amp biodiversity associated with the timiz 20 34 History of the zone amp demographical data 21 35 Ecological distribution and requirement 22 4 Production 23 41 Production process and actors23 411 General data on production 23 412 Plant development23 42 Typologies of the producers 25 43 Dryness process 27 431 Actors of the drying process 28 44 Impacts on quality29 45 Organization of producers29 46 Categorisation of the resources 30 47 Economic dimensions at the farm and local level31 5 Tradition and innovation31 51 Cultural inscription the history of the product uses practices31 511 Medical use 32 512 Cooking use 33 513 Other use 33 52 Patrimonalization heritage dimensions 34 53 Recent changes innovations 34 6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production 35 61 Presentation of the value chain 35 611 Function and role of every actor of the value chain36 612 Purchasing motivation and importance of the origin for the actors of the value

61

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62

case is between farmers-collectors and farmers in the production area

Transparency on prices is subjective but the Central Statistic Agency make report each

month on prices evolution for every product Reports are available at the library of the

Agency It seems important to note that reports contain numerous mistakes and so data

on timiz are not so reliable In the spice sector Timiz can be subject to compete

because of numerous spices found in Ethiopia In the pepper branch it is possible to

find

ndash black pepper in seed

ndash black pepper in powder

ndash timiz

ndash Indian long pepper

Black pepper and long pepper do not have the same use So timiz from Bonga is in

competition with timiz from Dawero but quantities are weak So the bigger rival is the

farenji timiz Abesha timiz has a strong advantage because it is not subject to such

important taxes as farenji timiz As a consequence abesha timiz is well appreciate by

consumers because of its price

64 A MARKETING SYSTEM TO BE IMPROVED

A study on spice sector made by Caroline Brunet in 2007 gives generals remarks

on spice sector and they are transferable to the particular situation of timiz farmers

unaware about market requirements too many middlemen for such a little supply chain

no quality control no certification no cooperatives no research at allhellipthe marketing

system stills very informal and could be developed on several points

However timiz can have a particular place in Ethiopian culture Found in a special

environment (wild coffee forest) used in many mains dishes Most of associations or

NGOsrsquo interviewed for this study were interested even if it is not their first

preoccupation in promoted timiz typical product from an unique ecosystem important

to be protected Timiz is not well known outside of Ethiopians boundaries but with a

53

coherent step the demand from foreigns countries can be created as we have seen with

investors who are going to export it to Japon and USA We can mentioned also the new

export step this year which can reflect a new demand and a new market

There is no data on farenji timiz importations so it is not possible to link the

augmentation of local production to a decrease of importation

7 ASSESSMENT OF THE PRODUCT AS A GI CANDIDATE

Aspects Advantages WeaknessesBiodiversity -Timiz is gathered in a unique

ecosystem (coffee forest)in only one place in Ethiopia- Natural resource-Only local variety is avaible-Produced without chemical inputs

- Wild timiz do not always good quality- Domestication can break links with this unique ecosystem but can improve quality

Production -Local production with local variety-No expensive inputs are required- Traditional knowledge with recent experiences- Geographical areas of production can be easily delimit - Until now small production but most of fruits were wild so possibility to increase production

- Farmers are not aware of consumers and market requirements- Production can be irregular and weak- Production highly depending of the season and climatic data- Small quantities

Processing -Traditional processing made only by local people-Smoking process is typical from Kaffa area- Not expensive drying process- Possibility to generalise sun drying method

- Process is not made in the way consumers want it- No homogeneity in drying method (time drying method)- Farmers do not make quality differences between drying methods- Smoking method has not a very good reputation but farmers used it- No research has been done on processing methods-Farmers of the zone do not use timiz so do not know the importance

54

of good qualityTrade - Cooperatives or association of

persons are more and more promoted- value chain well organised for such small quantity- good trust between actors in little scale (in direct contact) possibility of discussion and amelioration- Possibility to find timiz in every Ethiopian towns

- No cooperatives specialised on spices- Farmers just start to trust in cooperatives- Farmers are not aware of market requirements (out of the value chain)- No quality standards and no quality control- No traceability- Poor infrastructures- No especially knowledge of the production area- No legal protection

Product -Timiz is linked with national traditions- Used for years by Ethiopian people- Different use not only for cooking

- Timiz is not linked with local culture and tradition-Not a high reputation as others products- Not easy to found outside of market places- No packaging

Domestic consumers

-Most of Ethiopian people no more or less the origin of timiz- Ethiopian people accept to pay a higher price for quality products- Ethiopian people recognize quality without certification-Interest in good products- Ethiopian people know about fair trade and organic labels

- Low purchasing power of most of the population prevents development of price premium- Ethiopian people are not aware of GI notions

Foreign consumers

-Possible potential for export - Small quantity-Irregular quality and careful less on quality

General context

-NGOs are working on improvement of agricultural practices and value chain

- No interest by the Government on this product- No research has yet been done by the public sector (production consumption)- More interested by food security and export products (flowers oilseeds)- NGOs do not focus on timiz but more on coffee and kororima

55

- Public persons have very limited knowledge on GI concept-No quality standard and control

Social - Large scale of people dealing with timiz- With such a little production timiz can give good benefits and if it is not the first preoccupation of actors in the value chain everybody have a little interest for this spice

- Not enough production to interest more people

This summering table for possibilities to timiz to be a GI candidate shows advantages

and weaknesses of the product Most of weaknesses are not restrictive and can be easily

overcome But an important work needs to be done

After the description of the value chain it is possible to say that the bottleneck seems to

be in the production There is a demand by consumers which lets think that the

production can be increased and sold

56

Conclusion

The spice sector is small and poorly organised in comparison to others Ethiopian

sectors The timiz sector has small quantities no processing factories no cooperatives

and also no research and support by the government But it has high potentialities Timiz

is strongly linked to a territory and a special biodiversity as well as Ethiopian culture

and people It is a good source of income and a added-value sector It makes sense to

develop this product for domestic and also international markets

However some changes have to be done to increase the building capacities of various

intermediaries but also in technical terms with a development of traceability and quality

controls

Timiz is a typical product strongly linked to the area of production in terms of natural

and human environment The natural biodiversity of Kaffa zone and the specific

conditions provided by the coffee forest is the natural environment for timiz It is

produced thanks to the Kafinian traditional knowledge and can be a representation of

Ethiopian culture and tradition

Economically timiz supports an important part of the income of various people and is

one of the most important spice of Ethiopia However the value chain present several

weaknesses and stills badly distributed in terms of quality and quantity Farmers

organisation are weak and informations about market requirements still limited

Ameliorations possibilities they could get from certification are not evaluated Efforts

are essentially to strengthen producers organization and to improve the value chain

Few operators are aware of certification like organic or fair trade but nobody really

knows about GI certification Some consumers can be ready to pay premium for quality

but it is not the general thinking The commerce is based on trust and personal relations

what can permit a good transmission of informations

57

Illustrations TableTableau 1 Several names for one spice (Edwards S amp al2000)2Illustration 1 Farenji timiz amp Abesha timiz (Avril2008) 3Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998) 4Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)5Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008) 6Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)6Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000) 7Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008) 9Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)9Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)10Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008) 11Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008) 12Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008) 12Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008) 13Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 11 Measure unit on market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)14Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) 14Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)15Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)17Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)19Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)25Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008) 27Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)27Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008) 32Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)34Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)36Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)45Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008) 47Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)48Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008) 48Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008)) 49Illustration 27 Prices given to farmers from sept06 to sept 08 (data Farmers 2008 prodAvril 2008) 50Illustration 28 Data synthesis Pedo climatic prices events (Avril 2008)51Illustration 29 Timiz buying prices along the value chain (data VC actors prodAvril2008) 52

58

Bibliographies

Azene Bekele-Tesemma Birnie A et Bo Tegnas 1999 Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia Identification propagation and management for agriculture and pastoral communities Technical Handbook Ndeg 5 SIDArsquos Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU) Nairobi Kenya

Bareaud M 2007 laquo Analyse-Diagnostic dune petite reacutegion agricole du Sud-Ouest de lEthiopie (WishWish Zone Kafa) raquo DAA developpement agricoleAgroPArisTech77p

Briggs P 2006 laquo Ethiopia the bradt travel guide raquo fourth edition England 600p

BrunetC2007 The Ethiopian Spice Sector A study case on kororima (Aframomum

Kororima) Internal report Project Home Gardens of Ethiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia

CSA ECRI IFPRI 2006 Atlas of Ethiopian Rural Economy Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data98p

CSA2007 Report on monthly average retail prices of goods and services from 395 to 422 statistical bulletin Pages 157-163 Addis Ababa Central Statistics Agency

Cochet H 2007 Recherches en cours sur les systegravemes agro-forestiers agrave cafeacute dans le Sud-Ouest eacutethiopien (Bonga) Rapport de mission Agroparistech

ErsadoM 2001 laquo Inventory of Woody Species in Bonga Forest raquo Institue of Biodiversity Conservation and ResearchTechnical Report Ndeg1 Addis Abeba

Edward S Tadesse M Demissew S Hedberg I 2000 laquo Flora of Ethiopia amp Eritrea Volume 2 part 1 Magnoliace to flacourtiace raquo Addis Ababa Ethiopia-Uppsala Sweden National Herbarium (Ethiopia) p 59-64

Farm Africa Sos Sahel 2004 Commercialization of spices in Bonga Project profile12p

Gascon A 1995 Les enjeux fonciers en Ethiopie et Erythreacutee De lrsquoAncien Reacutegime agrave la Reacutevolution In Blanc-Pamard C et Cambreacutezy L (coordination) Terre terroir territoire les tensions fonciegraveres ORSTOMCEA-URA94 Coll Colloques et Seacuteminaires Paris

KochharSL 1998 laquo Economic botany in the tropics raquo second edition Departugraveent of Botany Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College University of Delhi 604p

MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000 Essentials oils from four Piper species Cited in

website of Direct Science

59

httpwwwsciencedirectcomscience_ob=ArticleURLamp_udi=B6TH7-40M54TJ-

10amp_user=10amp_rdoc=1amp_fmt=amp_orig=searchamp_sort=dampview=camp_version=1amp_urlVe

rsion=0amp_userid=10ampmd5=2e95df5da36a2e6c51bcd5f9dd96c7d8

Planel S 2003 Le Wolaita identiteacute et territoire recompositions spatiales et identitaires drsquoune reacutegion du sud eacutethiopien Thegravese de doctorat Universiteacute de Paris I Pantheacuteon Sorbonne Paris

RousselBVerdeauxF2003 Patrimoine naturel et communauteacutes locales en Ethiopie Avantages et limites dun systegraveme dIndications Geacuteographies Proteacutegeacutees Paper presented at the 29th Annual Spring Symposium of Center for African Studies University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Stellmacher T 2005 Traditional property rights and their influence on forest ressource utilisation in Ethiopia Paper presented at the Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development Stuttgart

60

Materials Table1Several names for one spice2 1 Description and distinctiveness of the product 3 11 Timiz and the Indian Long black pepper 3 12 Europe and the long black pepper 413 Description of the product4131 Botanical description 4132 Chemical description 614 Quality and Origin seen by the value-chain actors 7141 Quality concerns 7142 Demand for quality 10143 Way of selling timiz13 2 Area of production 14 21 Administrative unit region zone woreda kebele 16 22 Mapping 16 23 Cultural categorization of space local divisions of space 17 3 Environment and biodiversity18 31 General description of the environment18 32 Relief 19 33 The Bonga Forest amp biodiversity associated with the timiz 20 34 History of the zone amp demographical data 21 35 Ecological distribution and requirement 22 4 Production 23 41 Production process and actors23 411 General data on production 23 412 Plant development23 42 Typologies of the producers 25 43 Dryness process 27 431 Actors of the drying process 28 44 Impacts on quality29 45 Organization of producers29 46 Categorisation of the resources 30 47 Economic dimensions at the farm and local level31 5 Tradition and innovation31 51 Cultural inscription the history of the product uses practices31 511 Medical use 32 512 Cooking use 33 513 Other use 33 52 Patrimonalization heritage dimensions 34 53 Recent changes innovations 34 6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production 35 61 Presentation of the value chain 35 611 Function and role of every actor of the value chain36 612 Purchasing motivation and importance of the origin for the actors of the value

61

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62

coherent step the demand from foreigns countries can be created as we have seen with

investors who are going to export it to Japon and USA We can mentioned also the new

export step this year which can reflect a new demand and a new market

There is no data on farenji timiz importations so it is not possible to link the

augmentation of local production to a decrease of importation

7 ASSESSMENT OF THE PRODUCT AS A GI CANDIDATE

Aspects Advantages WeaknessesBiodiversity -Timiz is gathered in a unique

ecosystem (coffee forest)in only one place in Ethiopia- Natural resource-Only local variety is avaible-Produced without chemical inputs

- Wild timiz do not always good quality- Domestication can break links with this unique ecosystem but can improve quality

Production -Local production with local variety-No expensive inputs are required- Traditional knowledge with recent experiences- Geographical areas of production can be easily delimit - Until now small production but most of fruits were wild so possibility to increase production

- Farmers are not aware of consumers and market requirements- Production can be irregular and weak- Production highly depending of the season and climatic data- Small quantities

Processing -Traditional processing made only by local people-Smoking process is typical from Kaffa area- Not expensive drying process- Possibility to generalise sun drying method

- Process is not made in the way consumers want it- No homogeneity in drying method (time drying method)- Farmers do not make quality differences between drying methods- Smoking method has not a very good reputation but farmers used it- No research has been done on processing methods-Farmers of the zone do not use timiz so do not know the importance

54

of good qualityTrade - Cooperatives or association of

persons are more and more promoted- value chain well organised for such small quantity- good trust between actors in little scale (in direct contact) possibility of discussion and amelioration- Possibility to find timiz in every Ethiopian towns

- No cooperatives specialised on spices- Farmers just start to trust in cooperatives- Farmers are not aware of market requirements (out of the value chain)- No quality standards and no quality control- No traceability- Poor infrastructures- No especially knowledge of the production area- No legal protection

Product -Timiz is linked with national traditions- Used for years by Ethiopian people- Different use not only for cooking

- Timiz is not linked with local culture and tradition-Not a high reputation as others products- Not easy to found outside of market places- No packaging

Domestic consumers

-Most of Ethiopian people no more or less the origin of timiz- Ethiopian people accept to pay a higher price for quality products- Ethiopian people recognize quality without certification-Interest in good products- Ethiopian people know about fair trade and organic labels

- Low purchasing power of most of the population prevents development of price premium- Ethiopian people are not aware of GI notions

Foreign consumers

-Possible potential for export - Small quantity-Irregular quality and careful less on quality

General context

-NGOs are working on improvement of agricultural practices and value chain

- No interest by the Government on this product- No research has yet been done by the public sector (production consumption)- More interested by food security and export products (flowers oilseeds)- NGOs do not focus on timiz but more on coffee and kororima

55

- Public persons have very limited knowledge on GI concept-No quality standard and control

Social - Large scale of people dealing with timiz- With such a little production timiz can give good benefits and if it is not the first preoccupation of actors in the value chain everybody have a little interest for this spice

- Not enough production to interest more people

This summering table for possibilities to timiz to be a GI candidate shows advantages

and weaknesses of the product Most of weaknesses are not restrictive and can be easily

overcome But an important work needs to be done

After the description of the value chain it is possible to say that the bottleneck seems to

be in the production There is a demand by consumers which lets think that the

production can be increased and sold

56

Conclusion

The spice sector is small and poorly organised in comparison to others Ethiopian

sectors The timiz sector has small quantities no processing factories no cooperatives

and also no research and support by the government But it has high potentialities Timiz

is strongly linked to a territory and a special biodiversity as well as Ethiopian culture

and people It is a good source of income and a added-value sector It makes sense to

develop this product for domestic and also international markets

However some changes have to be done to increase the building capacities of various

intermediaries but also in technical terms with a development of traceability and quality

controls

Timiz is a typical product strongly linked to the area of production in terms of natural

and human environment The natural biodiversity of Kaffa zone and the specific

conditions provided by the coffee forest is the natural environment for timiz It is

produced thanks to the Kafinian traditional knowledge and can be a representation of

Ethiopian culture and tradition

Economically timiz supports an important part of the income of various people and is

one of the most important spice of Ethiopia However the value chain present several

weaknesses and stills badly distributed in terms of quality and quantity Farmers

organisation are weak and informations about market requirements still limited

Ameliorations possibilities they could get from certification are not evaluated Efforts

are essentially to strengthen producers organization and to improve the value chain

Few operators are aware of certification like organic or fair trade but nobody really

knows about GI certification Some consumers can be ready to pay premium for quality

but it is not the general thinking The commerce is based on trust and personal relations

what can permit a good transmission of informations

57

Illustrations TableTableau 1 Several names for one spice (Edwards S amp al2000)2Illustration 1 Farenji timiz amp Abesha timiz (Avril2008) 3Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998) 4Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)5Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008) 6Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)6Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000) 7Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008) 9Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)9Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)10Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008) 11Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008) 12Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008) 12Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008) 13Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 11 Measure unit on market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)14Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) 14Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)15Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)17Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)19Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)25Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008) 27Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)27Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008) 32Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)34Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)36Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)45Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008) 47Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)48Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008) 48Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008)) 49Illustration 27 Prices given to farmers from sept06 to sept 08 (data Farmers 2008 prodAvril 2008) 50Illustration 28 Data synthesis Pedo climatic prices events (Avril 2008)51Illustration 29 Timiz buying prices along the value chain (data VC actors prodAvril2008) 52

58

Bibliographies

Azene Bekele-Tesemma Birnie A et Bo Tegnas 1999 Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia Identification propagation and management for agriculture and pastoral communities Technical Handbook Ndeg 5 SIDArsquos Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU) Nairobi Kenya

Bareaud M 2007 laquo Analyse-Diagnostic dune petite reacutegion agricole du Sud-Ouest de lEthiopie (WishWish Zone Kafa) raquo DAA developpement agricoleAgroPArisTech77p

Briggs P 2006 laquo Ethiopia the bradt travel guide raquo fourth edition England 600p

BrunetC2007 The Ethiopian Spice Sector A study case on kororima (Aframomum

Kororima) Internal report Project Home Gardens of Ethiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia

CSA ECRI IFPRI 2006 Atlas of Ethiopian Rural Economy Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data98p

CSA2007 Report on monthly average retail prices of goods and services from 395 to 422 statistical bulletin Pages 157-163 Addis Ababa Central Statistics Agency

Cochet H 2007 Recherches en cours sur les systegravemes agro-forestiers agrave cafeacute dans le Sud-Ouest eacutethiopien (Bonga) Rapport de mission Agroparistech

ErsadoM 2001 laquo Inventory of Woody Species in Bonga Forest raquo Institue of Biodiversity Conservation and ResearchTechnical Report Ndeg1 Addis Abeba

Edward S Tadesse M Demissew S Hedberg I 2000 laquo Flora of Ethiopia amp Eritrea Volume 2 part 1 Magnoliace to flacourtiace raquo Addis Ababa Ethiopia-Uppsala Sweden National Herbarium (Ethiopia) p 59-64

Farm Africa Sos Sahel 2004 Commercialization of spices in Bonga Project profile12p

Gascon A 1995 Les enjeux fonciers en Ethiopie et Erythreacutee De lrsquoAncien Reacutegime agrave la Reacutevolution In Blanc-Pamard C et Cambreacutezy L (coordination) Terre terroir territoire les tensions fonciegraveres ORSTOMCEA-URA94 Coll Colloques et Seacuteminaires Paris

KochharSL 1998 laquo Economic botany in the tropics raquo second edition Departugraveent of Botany Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College University of Delhi 604p

MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000 Essentials oils from four Piper species Cited in

website of Direct Science

59

httpwwwsciencedirectcomscience_ob=ArticleURLamp_udi=B6TH7-40M54TJ-

10amp_user=10amp_rdoc=1amp_fmt=amp_orig=searchamp_sort=dampview=camp_version=1amp_urlVe

rsion=0amp_userid=10ampmd5=2e95df5da36a2e6c51bcd5f9dd96c7d8

Planel S 2003 Le Wolaita identiteacute et territoire recompositions spatiales et identitaires drsquoune reacutegion du sud eacutethiopien Thegravese de doctorat Universiteacute de Paris I Pantheacuteon Sorbonne Paris

RousselBVerdeauxF2003 Patrimoine naturel et communauteacutes locales en Ethiopie Avantages et limites dun systegraveme dIndications Geacuteographies Proteacutegeacutees Paper presented at the 29th Annual Spring Symposium of Center for African Studies University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Stellmacher T 2005 Traditional property rights and their influence on forest ressource utilisation in Ethiopia Paper presented at the Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development Stuttgart

60

Materials Table1Several names for one spice2 1 Description and distinctiveness of the product 3 11 Timiz and the Indian Long black pepper 3 12 Europe and the long black pepper 413 Description of the product4131 Botanical description 4132 Chemical description 614 Quality and Origin seen by the value-chain actors 7141 Quality concerns 7142 Demand for quality 10143 Way of selling timiz13 2 Area of production 14 21 Administrative unit region zone woreda kebele 16 22 Mapping 16 23 Cultural categorization of space local divisions of space 17 3 Environment and biodiversity18 31 General description of the environment18 32 Relief 19 33 The Bonga Forest amp biodiversity associated with the timiz 20 34 History of the zone amp demographical data 21 35 Ecological distribution and requirement 22 4 Production 23 41 Production process and actors23 411 General data on production 23 412 Plant development23 42 Typologies of the producers 25 43 Dryness process 27 431 Actors of the drying process 28 44 Impacts on quality29 45 Organization of producers29 46 Categorisation of the resources 30 47 Economic dimensions at the farm and local level31 5 Tradition and innovation31 51 Cultural inscription the history of the product uses practices31 511 Medical use 32 512 Cooking use 33 513 Other use 33 52 Patrimonalization heritage dimensions 34 53 Recent changes innovations 34 6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production 35 61 Presentation of the value chain 35 611 Function and role of every actor of the value chain36 612 Purchasing motivation and importance of the origin for the actors of the value

61

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62

of good qualityTrade - Cooperatives or association of

persons are more and more promoted- value chain well organised for such small quantity- good trust between actors in little scale (in direct contact) possibility of discussion and amelioration- Possibility to find timiz in every Ethiopian towns

- No cooperatives specialised on spices- Farmers just start to trust in cooperatives- Farmers are not aware of market requirements (out of the value chain)- No quality standards and no quality control- No traceability- Poor infrastructures- No especially knowledge of the production area- No legal protection

Product -Timiz is linked with national traditions- Used for years by Ethiopian people- Different use not only for cooking

- Timiz is not linked with local culture and tradition-Not a high reputation as others products- Not easy to found outside of market places- No packaging

Domestic consumers

-Most of Ethiopian people no more or less the origin of timiz- Ethiopian people accept to pay a higher price for quality products- Ethiopian people recognize quality without certification-Interest in good products- Ethiopian people know about fair trade and organic labels

- Low purchasing power of most of the population prevents development of price premium- Ethiopian people are not aware of GI notions

Foreign consumers

-Possible potential for export - Small quantity-Irregular quality and careful less on quality

General context

-NGOs are working on improvement of agricultural practices and value chain

- No interest by the Government on this product- No research has yet been done by the public sector (production consumption)- More interested by food security and export products (flowers oilseeds)- NGOs do not focus on timiz but more on coffee and kororima

55

- Public persons have very limited knowledge on GI concept-No quality standard and control

Social - Large scale of people dealing with timiz- With such a little production timiz can give good benefits and if it is not the first preoccupation of actors in the value chain everybody have a little interest for this spice

- Not enough production to interest more people

This summering table for possibilities to timiz to be a GI candidate shows advantages

and weaknesses of the product Most of weaknesses are not restrictive and can be easily

overcome But an important work needs to be done

After the description of the value chain it is possible to say that the bottleneck seems to

be in the production There is a demand by consumers which lets think that the

production can be increased and sold

56

Conclusion

The spice sector is small and poorly organised in comparison to others Ethiopian

sectors The timiz sector has small quantities no processing factories no cooperatives

and also no research and support by the government But it has high potentialities Timiz

is strongly linked to a territory and a special biodiversity as well as Ethiopian culture

and people It is a good source of income and a added-value sector It makes sense to

develop this product for domestic and also international markets

However some changes have to be done to increase the building capacities of various

intermediaries but also in technical terms with a development of traceability and quality

controls

Timiz is a typical product strongly linked to the area of production in terms of natural

and human environment The natural biodiversity of Kaffa zone and the specific

conditions provided by the coffee forest is the natural environment for timiz It is

produced thanks to the Kafinian traditional knowledge and can be a representation of

Ethiopian culture and tradition

Economically timiz supports an important part of the income of various people and is

one of the most important spice of Ethiopia However the value chain present several

weaknesses and stills badly distributed in terms of quality and quantity Farmers

organisation are weak and informations about market requirements still limited

Ameliorations possibilities they could get from certification are not evaluated Efforts

are essentially to strengthen producers organization and to improve the value chain

Few operators are aware of certification like organic or fair trade but nobody really

knows about GI certification Some consumers can be ready to pay premium for quality

but it is not the general thinking The commerce is based on trust and personal relations

what can permit a good transmission of informations

57

Illustrations TableTableau 1 Several names for one spice (Edwards S amp al2000)2Illustration 1 Farenji timiz amp Abesha timiz (Avril2008) 3Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998) 4Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)5Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008) 6Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)6Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000) 7Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008) 9Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)9Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)10Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008) 11Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008) 12Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008) 12Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008) 13Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 11 Measure unit on market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)14Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) 14Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)15Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)17Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)19Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)25Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008) 27Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)27Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008) 32Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)34Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)36Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)45Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008) 47Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)48Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008) 48Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008)) 49Illustration 27 Prices given to farmers from sept06 to sept 08 (data Farmers 2008 prodAvril 2008) 50Illustration 28 Data synthesis Pedo climatic prices events (Avril 2008)51Illustration 29 Timiz buying prices along the value chain (data VC actors prodAvril2008) 52

58

Bibliographies

Azene Bekele-Tesemma Birnie A et Bo Tegnas 1999 Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia Identification propagation and management for agriculture and pastoral communities Technical Handbook Ndeg 5 SIDArsquos Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU) Nairobi Kenya

Bareaud M 2007 laquo Analyse-Diagnostic dune petite reacutegion agricole du Sud-Ouest de lEthiopie (WishWish Zone Kafa) raquo DAA developpement agricoleAgroPArisTech77p

Briggs P 2006 laquo Ethiopia the bradt travel guide raquo fourth edition England 600p

BrunetC2007 The Ethiopian Spice Sector A study case on kororima (Aframomum

Kororima) Internal report Project Home Gardens of Ethiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia

CSA ECRI IFPRI 2006 Atlas of Ethiopian Rural Economy Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data98p

CSA2007 Report on monthly average retail prices of goods and services from 395 to 422 statistical bulletin Pages 157-163 Addis Ababa Central Statistics Agency

Cochet H 2007 Recherches en cours sur les systegravemes agro-forestiers agrave cafeacute dans le Sud-Ouest eacutethiopien (Bonga) Rapport de mission Agroparistech

ErsadoM 2001 laquo Inventory of Woody Species in Bonga Forest raquo Institue of Biodiversity Conservation and ResearchTechnical Report Ndeg1 Addis Abeba

Edward S Tadesse M Demissew S Hedberg I 2000 laquo Flora of Ethiopia amp Eritrea Volume 2 part 1 Magnoliace to flacourtiace raquo Addis Ababa Ethiopia-Uppsala Sweden National Herbarium (Ethiopia) p 59-64

Farm Africa Sos Sahel 2004 Commercialization of spices in Bonga Project profile12p

Gascon A 1995 Les enjeux fonciers en Ethiopie et Erythreacutee De lrsquoAncien Reacutegime agrave la Reacutevolution In Blanc-Pamard C et Cambreacutezy L (coordination) Terre terroir territoire les tensions fonciegraveres ORSTOMCEA-URA94 Coll Colloques et Seacuteminaires Paris

KochharSL 1998 laquo Economic botany in the tropics raquo second edition Departugraveent of Botany Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College University of Delhi 604p

MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000 Essentials oils from four Piper species Cited in

website of Direct Science

59

httpwwwsciencedirectcomscience_ob=ArticleURLamp_udi=B6TH7-40M54TJ-

10amp_user=10amp_rdoc=1amp_fmt=amp_orig=searchamp_sort=dampview=camp_version=1amp_urlVe

rsion=0amp_userid=10ampmd5=2e95df5da36a2e6c51bcd5f9dd96c7d8

Planel S 2003 Le Wolaita identiteacute et territoire recompositions spatiales et identitaires drsquoune reacutegion du sud eacutethiopien Thegravese de doctorat Universiteacute de Paris I Pantheacuteon Sorbonne Paris

RousselBVerdeauxF2003 Patrimoine naturel et communauteacutes locales en Ethiopie Avantages et limites dun systegraveme dIndications Geacuteographies Proteacutegeacutees Paper presented at the 29th Annual Spring Symposium of Center for African Studies University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Stellmacher T 2005 Traditional property rights and their influence on forest ressource utilisation in Ethiopia Paper presented at the Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development Stuttgart

60

Materials Table1Several names for one spice2 1 Description and distinctiveness of the product 3 11 Timiz and the Indian Long black pepper 3 12 Europe and the long black pepper 413 Description of the product4131 Botanical description 4132 Chemical description 614 Quality and Origin seen by the value-chain actors 7141 Quality concerns 7142 Demand for quality 10143 Way of selling timiz13 2 Area of production 14 21 Administrative unit region zone woreda kebele 16 22 Mapping 16 23 Cultural categorization of space local divisions of space 17 3 Environment and biodiversity18 31 General description of the environment18 32 Relief 19 33 The Bonga Forest amp biodiversity associated with the timiz 20 34 History of the zone amp demographical data 21 35 Ecological distribution and requirement 22 4 Production 23 41 Production process and actors23 411 General data on production 23 412 Plant development23 42 Typologies of the producers 25 43 Dryness process 27 431 Actors of the drying process 28 44 Impacts on quality29 45 Organization of producers29 46 Categorisation of the resources 30 47 Economic dimensions at the farm and local level31 5 Tradition and innovation31 51 Cultural inscription the history of the product uses practices31 511 Medical use 32 512 Cooking use 33 513 Other use 33 52 Patrimonalization heritage dimensions 34 53 Recent changes innovations 34 6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production 35 61 Presentation of the value chain 35 611 Function and role of every actor of the value chain36 612 Purchasing motivation and importance of the origin for the actors of the value

61

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62

- Public persons have very limited knowledge on GI concept-No quality standard and control

Social - Large scale of people dealing with timiz- With such a little production timiz can give good benefits and if it is not the first preoccupation of actors in the value chain everybody have a little interest for this spice

- Not enough production to interest more people

This summering table for possibilities to timiz to be a GI candidate shows advantages

and weaknesses of the product Most of weaknesses are not restrictive and can be easily

overcome But an important work needs to be done

After the description of the value chain it is possible to say that the bottleneck seems to

be in the production There is a demand by consumers which lets think that the

production can be increased and sold

56

Conclusion

The spice sector is small and poorly organised in comparison to others Ethiopian

sectors The timiz sector has small quantities no processing factories no cooperatives

and also no research and support by the government But it has high potentialities Timiz

is strongly linked to a territory and a special biodiversity as well as Ethiopian culture

and people It is a good source of income and a added-value sector It makes sense to

develop this product for domestic and also international markets

However some changes have to be done to increase the building capacities of various

intermediaries but also in technical terms with a development of traceability and quality

controls

Timiz is a typical product strongly linked to the area of production in terms of natural

and human environment The natural biodiversity of Kaffa zone and the specific

conditions provided by the coffee forest is the natural environment for timiz It is

produced thanks to the Kafinian traditional knowledge and can be a representation of

Ethiopian culture and tradition

Economically timiz supports an important part of the income of various people and is

one of the most important spice of Ethiopia However the value chain present several

weaknesses and stills badly distributed in terms of quality and quantity Farmers

organisation are weak and informations about market requirements still limited

Ameliorations possibilities they could get from certification are not evaluated Efforts

are essentially to strengthen producers organization and to improve the value chain

Few operators are aware of certification like organic or fair trade but nobody really

knows about GI certification Some consumers can be ready to pay premium for quality

but it is not the general thinking The commerce is based on trust and personal relations

what can permit a good transmission of informations

57

Illustrations TableTableau 1 Several names for one spice (Edwards S amp al2000)2Illustration 1 Farenji timiz amp Abesha timiz (Avril2008) 3Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998) 4Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)5Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008) 6Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)6Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000) 7Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008) 9Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)9Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)10Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008) 11Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008) 12Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008) 12Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008) 13Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 11 Measure unit on market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)14Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) 14Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)15Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)17Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)19Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)25Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008) 27Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)27Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008) 32Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)34Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)36Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)45Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008) 47Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)48Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008) 48Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008)) 49Illustration 27 Prices given to farmers from sept06 to sept 08 (data Farmers 2008 prodAvril 2008) 50Illustration 28 Data synthesis Pedo climatic prices events (Avril 2008)51Illustration 29 Timiz buying prices along the value chain (data VC actors prodAvril2008) 52

58

Bibliographies

Azene Bekele-Tesemma Birnie A et Bo Tegnas 1999 Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia Identification propagation and management for agriculture and pastoral communities Technical Handbook Ndeg 5 SIDArsquos Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU) Nairobi Kenya

Bareaud M 2007 laquo Analyse-Diagnostic dune petite reacutegion agricole du Sud-Ouest de lEthiopie (WishWish Zone Kafa) raquo DAA developpement agricoleAgroPArisTech77p

Briggs P 2006 laquo Ethiopia the bradt travel guide raquo fourth edition England 600p

BrunetC2007 The Ethiopian Spice Sector A study case on kororima (Aframomum

Kororima) Internal report Project Home Gardens of Ethiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia

CSA ECRI IFPRI 2006 Atlas of Ethiopian Rural Economy Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data98p

CSA2007 Report on monthly average retail prices of goods and services from 395 to 422 statistical bulletin Pages 157-163 Addis Ababa Central Statistics Agency

Cochet H 2007 Recherches en cours sur les systegravemes agro-forestiers agrave cafeacute dans le Sud-Ouest eacutethiopien (Bonga) Rapport de mission Agroparistech

ErsadoM 2001 laquo Inventory of Woody Species in Bonga Forest raquo Institue of Biodiversity Conservation and ResearchTechnical Report Ndeg1 Addis Abeba

Edward S Tadesse M Demissew S Hedberg I 2000 laquo Flora of Ethiopia amp Eritrea Volume 2 part 1 Magnoliace to flacourtiace raquo Addis Ababa Ethiopia-Uppsala Sweden National Herbarium (Ethiopia) p 59-64

Farm Africa Sos Sahel 2004 Commercialization of spices in Bonga Project profile12p

Gascon A 1995 Les enjeux fonciers en Ethiopie et Erythreacutee De lrsquoAncien Reacutegime agrave la Reacutevolution In Blanc-Pamard C et Cambreacutezy L (coordination) Terre terroir territoire les tensions fonciegraveres ORSTOMCEA-URA94 Coll Colloques et Seacuteminaires Paris

KochharSL 1998 laquo Economic botany in the tropics raquo second edition Departugraveent of Botany Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College University of Delhi 604p

MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000 Essentials oils from four Piper species Cited in

website of Direct Science

59

httpwwwsciencedirectcomscience_ob=ArticleURLamp_udi=B6TH7-40M54TJ-

10amp_user=10amp_rdoc=1amp_fmt=amp_orig=searchamp_sort=dampview=camp_version=1amp_urlVe

rsion=0amp_userid=10ampmd5=2e95df5da36a2e6c51bcd5f9dd96c7d8

Planel S 2003 Le Wolaita identiteacute et territoire recompositions spatiales et identitaires drsquoune reacutegion du sud eacutethiopien Thegravese de doctorat Universiteacute de Paris I Pantheacuteon Sorbonne Paris

RousselBVerdeauxF2003 Patrimoine naturel et communauteacutes locales en Ethiopie Avantages et limites dun systegraveme dIndications Geacuteographies Proteacutegeacutees Paper presented at the 29th Annual Spring Symposium of Center for African Studies University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Stellmacher T 2005 Traditional property rights and their influence on forest ressource utilisation in Ethiopia Paper presented at the Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development Stuttgart

60

Materials Table1Several names for one spice2 1 Description and distinctiveness of the product 3 11 Timiz and the Indian Long black pepper 3 12 Europe and the long black pepper 413 Description of the product4131 Botanical description 4132 Chemical description 614 Quality and Origin seen by the value-chain actors 7141 Quality concerns 7142 Demand for quality 10143 Way of selling timiz13 2 Area of production 14 21 Administrative unit region zone woreda kebele 16 22 Mapping 16 23 Cultural categorization of space local divisions of space 17 3 Environment and biodiversity18 31 General description of the environment18 32 Relief 19 33 The Bonga Forest amp biodiversity associated with the timiz 20 34 History of the zone amp demographical data 21 35 Ecological distribution and requirement 22 4 Production 23 41 Production process and actors23 411 General data on production 23 412 Plant development23 42 Typologies of the producers 25 43 Dryness process 27 431 Actors of the drying process 28 44 Impacts on quality29 45 Organization of producers29 46 Categorisation of the resources 30 47 Economic dimensions at the farm and local level31 5 Tradition and innovation31 51 Cultural inscription the history of the product uses practices31 511 Medical use 32 512 Cooking use 33 513 Other use 33 52 Patrimonalization heritage dimensions 34 53 Recent changes innovations 34 6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production 35 61 Presentation of the value chain 35 611 Function and role of every actor of the value chain36 612 Purchasing motivation and importance of the origin for the actors of the value

61

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62

Conclusion

The spice sector is small and poorly organised in comparison to others Ethiopian

sectors The timiz sector has small quantities no processing factories no cooperatives

and also no research and support by the government But it has high potentialities Timiz

is strongly linked to a territory and a special biodiversity as well as Ethiopian culture

and people It is a good source of income and a added-value sector It makes sense to

develop this product for domestic and also international markets

However some changes have to be done to increase the building capacities of various

intermediaries but also in technical terms with a development of traceability and quality

controls

Timiz is a typical product strongly linked to the area of production in terms of natural

and human environment The natural biodiversity of Kaffa zone and the specific

conditions provided by the coffee forest is the natural environment for timiz It is

produced thanks to the Kafinian traditional knowledge and can be a representation of

Ethiopian culture and tradition

Economically timiz supports an important part of the income of various people and is

one of the most important spice of Ethiopia However the value chain present several

weaknesses and stills badly distributed in terms of quality and quantity Farmers

organisation are weak and informations about market requirements still limited

Ameliorations possibilities they could get from certification are not evaluated Efforts

are essentially to strengthen producers organization and to improve the value chain

Few operators are aware of certification like organic or fair trade but nobody really

knows about GI certification Some consumers can be ready to pay premium for quality

but it is not the general thinking The commerce is based on trust and personal relations

what can permit a good transmission of informations

57

Illustrations TableTableau 1 Several names for one spice (Edwards S amp al2000)2Illustration 1 Farenji timiz amp Abesha timiz (Avril2008) 3Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998) 4Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)5Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008) 6Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)6Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000) 7Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008) 9Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)9Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)10Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008) 11Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008) 12Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008) 12Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008) 13Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 11 Measure unit on market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)14Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) 14Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)15Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)17Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)19Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)25Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008) 27Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)27Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008) 32Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)34Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)36Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)45Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008) 47Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)48Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008) 48Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008)) 49Illustration 27 Prices given to farmers from sept06 to sept 08 (data Farmers 2008 prodAvril 2008) 50Illustration 28 Data synthesis Pedo climatic prices events (Avril 2008)51Illustration 29 Timiz buying prices along the value chain (data VC actors prodAvril2008) 52

58

Bibliographies

Azene Bekele-Tesemma Birnie A et Bo Tegnas 1999 Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia Identification propagation and management for agriculture and pastoral communities Technical Handbook Ndeg 5 SIDArsquos Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU) Nairobi Kenya

Bareaud M 2007 laquo Analyse-Diagnostic dune petite reacutegion agricole du Sud-Ouest de lEthiopie (WishWish Zone Kafa) raquo DAA developpement agricoleAgroPArisTech77p

Briggs P 2006 laquo Ethiopia the bradt travel guide raquo fourth edition England 600p

BrunetC2007 The Ethiopian Spice Sector A study case on kororima (Aframomum

Kororima) Internal report Project Home Gardens of Ethiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia

CSA ECRI IFPRI 2006 Atlas of Ethiopian Rural Economy Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data98p

CSA2007 Report on monthly average retail prices of goods and services from 395 to 422 statistical bulletin Pages 157-163 Addis Ababa Central Statistics Agency

Cochet H 2007 Recherches en cours sur les systegravemes agro-forestiers agrave cafeacute dans le Sud-Ouest eacutethiopien (Bonga) Rapport de mission Agroparistech

ErsadoM 2001 laquo Inventory of Woody Species in Bonga Forest raquo Institue of Biodiversity Conservation and ResearchTechnical Report Ndeg1 Addis Abeba

Edward S Tadesse M Demissew S Hedberg I 2000 laquo Flora of Ethiopia amp Eritrea Volume 2 part 1 Magnoliace to flacourtiace raquo Addis Ababa Ethiopia-Uppsala Sweden National Herbarium (Ethiopia) p 59-64

Farm Africa Sos Sahel 2004 Commercialization of spices in Bonga Project profile12p

Gascon A 1995 Les enjeux fonciers en Ethiopie et Erythreacutee De lrsquoAncien Reacutegime agrave la Reacutevolution In Blanc-Pamard C et Cambreacutezy L (coordination) Terre terroir territoire les tensions fonciegraveres ORSTOMCEA-URA94 Coll Colloques et Seacuteminaires Paris

KochharSL 1998 laquo Economic botany in the tropics raquo second edition Departugraveent of Botany Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College University of Delhi 604p

MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000 Essentials oils from four Piper species Cited in

website of Direct Science

59

httpwwwsciencedirectcomscience_ob=ArticleURLamp_udi=B6TH7-40M54TJ-

10amp_user=10amp_rdoc=1amp_fmt=amp_orig=searchamp_sort=dampview=camp_version=1amp_urlVe

rsion=0amp_userid=10ampmd5=2e95df5da36a2e6c51bcd5f9dd96c7d8

Planel S 2003 Le Wolaita identiteacute et territoire recompositions spatiales et identitaires drsquoune reacutegion du sud eacutethiopien Thegravese de doctorat Universiteacute de Paris I Pantheacuteon Sorbonne Paris

RousselBVerdeauxF2003 Patrimoine naturel et communauteacutes locales en Ethiopie Avantages et limites dun systegraveme dIndications Geacuteographies Proteacutegeacutees Paper presented at the 29th Annual Spring Symposium of Center for African Studies University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Stellmacher T 2005 Traditional property rights and their influence on forest ressource utilisation in Ethiopia Paper presented at the Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development Stuttgart

60

Materials Table1Several names for one spice2 1 Description and distinctiveness of the product 3 11 Timiz and the Indian Long black pepper 3 12 Europe and the long black pepper 413 Description of the product4131 Botanical description 4132 Chemical description 614 Quality and Origin seen by the value-chain actors 7141 Quality concerns 7142 Demand for quality 10143 Way of selling timiz13 2 Area of production 14 21 Administrative unit region zone woreda kebele 16 22 Mapping 16 23 Cultural categorization of space local divisions of space 17 3 Environment and biodiversity18 31 General description of the environment18 32 Relief 19 33 The Bonga Forest amp biodiversity associated with the timiz 20 34 History of the zone amp demographical data 21 35 Ecological distribution and requirement 22 4 Production 23 41 Production process and actors23 411 General data on production 23 412 Plant development23 42 Typologies of the producers 25 43 Dryness process 27 431 Actors of the drying process 28 44 Impacts on quality29 45 Organization of producers29 46 Categorisation of the resources 30 47 Economic dimensions at the farm and local level31 5 Tradition and innovation31 51 Cultural inscription the history of the product uses practices31 511 Medical use 32 512 Cooking use 33 513 Other use 33 52 Patrimonalization heritage dimensions 34 53 Recent changes innovations 34 6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production 35 61 Presentation of the value chain 35 611 Function and role of every actor of the value chain36 612 Purchasing motivation and importance of the origin for the actors of the value

61

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62

Illustrations TableTableau 1 Several names for one spice (Edwards S amp al2000)2Illustration 1 Farenji timiz amp Abesha timiz (Avril2008) 3Tableau 2 Taxonomy of piper capense (Kochhar SL 1998) 4Illustration 2 Piper Capense (Aluka 2007)5Illustration 3 Male timiz according to farmers (Avril2008) 6Illustration 4 Female timiz according to farmers (Avril2008)6Tableau 3 Piper capense referenced by ISO (ISO 2000) 7Tableau 4 Timiz Characteristics according to traders (Avril2008) 9Illustration 5 Roasted timiz (Avril2008)9Illustration 6 Prices variation for different kind of timiz on Addis market (Avril2008)10Tableau 5 Problems on timiz quality (dataactors prod Avril2008) 11Illustration 7 Fruit ready to be harvested (Avril2008) 12Illustration 8 Wicked and good timiz at the purchasing time (Avril2008) 12Tableau 6 Selection criterion explained by actors (Avril2008) 13Illustration 9 Street vendor (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 10 Shop in Merkato (Avril 2008) 13Illustration 11 Measure unit on market 2ETBdose (Avril2008)14Illustration 12 little plastic bag with timiz (Avril2008) 14Illustration 13 Roads network in the production site (dataCSAampal2006prod Avril2008)15Illustration 14 Maps (CSA2007 Ethiopian Mapping 1996 prodAvril2008)17Illustration 15 Agroecological conditions of the production site (dataCSAampal2006 prod Avril2008)19Illustration 16 Technical itinerary (Avril2008)25Illustration 17 Smoking process (Avril2008) 27Illustration 18 Sun-drying process (Avril 2008)27Illustration 19 Annual prices average (dataCAS2007prod Avril2008) 32Illustration 20 Managed timiz (Avril2008)34Illustration 21 Eventual future way of selling (datainvestors prodAvril2008)36Illustration 22 Quality amp Origin seen by the value chain actors (data actorsprodAvril2008)45Illustration 23 Merkato localization amp organization (datagoogle prodAvril2008) 47Illustration 24 Timiz prices in Addis Markets (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008)48Illustration 25 Timiz Prices in different towns of Ethiopia (dataCSA2007prodAvril2008) 48Illustration 26 Annual price average of most important spices on Ethiopian markets (data CSA2007 prod Avril 2008)) 49Illustration 27 Prices given to farmers from sept06 to sept 08 (data Farmers 2008 prodAvril 2008) 50Illustration 28 Data synthesis Pedo climatic prices events (Avril 2008)51Illustration 29 Timiz buying prices along the value chain (data VC actors prodAvril2008) 52

58

Bibliographies

Azene Bekele-Tesemma Birnie A et Bo Tegnas 1999 Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia Identification propagation and management for agriculture and pastoral communities Technical Handbook Ndeg 5 SIDArsquos Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU) Nairobi Kenya

Bareaud M 2007 laquo Analyse-Diagnostic dune petite reacutegion agricole du Sud-Ouest de lEthiopie (WishWish Zone Kafa) raquo DAA developpement agricoleAgroPArisTech77p

Briggs P 2006 laquo Ethiopia the bradt travel guide raquo fourth edition England 600p

BrunetC2007 The Ethiopian Spice Sector A study case on kororima (Aframomum

Kororima) Internal report Project Home Gardens of Ethiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia

CSA ECRI IFPRI 2006 Atlas of Ethiopian Rural Economy Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data98p

CSA2007 Report on monthly average retail prices of goods and services from 395 to 422 statistical bulletin Pages 157-163 Addis Ababa Central Statistics Agency

Cochet H 2007 Recherches en cours sur les systegravemes agro-forestiers agrave cafeacute dans le Sud-Ouest eacutethiopien (Bonga) Rapport de mission Agroparistech

ErsadoM 2001 laquo Inventory of Woody Species in Bonga Forest raquo Institue of Biodiversity Conservation and ResearchTechnical Report Ndeg1 Addis Abeba

Edward S Tadesse M Demissew S Hedberg I 2000 laquo Flora of Ethiopia amp Eritrea Volume 2 part 1 Magnoliace to flacourtiace raquo Addis Ababa Ethiopia-Uppsala Sweden National Herbarium (Ethiopia) p 59-64

Farm Africa Sos Sahel 2004 Commercialization of spices in Bonga Project profile12p

Gascon A 1995 Les enjeux fonciers en Ethiopie et Erythreacutee De lrsquoAncien Reacutegime agrave la Reacutevolution In Blanc-Pamard C et Cambreacutezy L (coordination) Terre terroir territoire les tensions fonciegraveres ORSTOMCEA-URA94 Coll Colloques et Seacuteminaires Paris

KochharSL 1998 laquo Economic botany in the tropics raquo second edition Departugraveent of Botany Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College University of Delhi 604p

MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000 Essentials oils from four Piper species Cited in

website of Direct Science

59

httpwwwsciencedirectcomscience_ob=ArticleURLamp_udi=B6TH7-40M54TJ-

10amp_user=10amp_rdoc=1amp_fmt=amp_orig=searchamp_sort=dampview=camp_version=1amp_urlVe

rsion=0amp_userid=10ampmd5=2e95df5da36a2e6c51bcd5f9dd96c7d8

Planel S 2003 Le Wolaita identiteacute et territoire recompositions spatiales et identitaires drsquoune reacutegion du sud eacutethiopien Thegravese de doctorat Universiteacute de Paris I Pantheacuteon Sorbonne Paris

RousselBVerdeauxF2003 Patrimoine naturel et communauteacutes locales en Ethiopie Avantages et limites dun systegraveme dIndications Geacuteographies Proteacutegeacutees Paper presented at the 29th Annual Spring Symposium of Center for African Studies University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Stellmacher T 2005 Traditional property rights and their influence on forest ressource utilisation in Ethiopia Paper presented at the Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development Stuttgart

60

Materials Table1Several names for one spice2 1 Description and distinctiveness of the product 3 11 Timiz and the Indian Long black pepper 3 12 Europe and the long black pepper 413 Description of the product4131 Botanical description 4132 Chemical description 614 Quality and Origin seen by the value-chain actors 7141 Quality concerns 7142 Demand for quality 10143 Way of selling timiz13 2 Area of production 14 21 Administrative unit region zone woreda kebele 16 22 Mapping 16 23 Cultural categorization of space local divisions of space 17 3 Environment and biodiversity18 31 General description of the environment18 32 Relief 19 33 The Bonga Forest amp biodiversity associated with the timiz 20 34 History of the zone amp demographical data 21 35 Ecological distribution and requirement 22 4 Production 23 41 Production process and actors23 411 General data on production 23 412 Plant development23 42 Typologies of the producers 25 43 Dryness process 27 431 Actors of the drying process 28 44 Impacts on quality29 45 Organization of producers29 46 Categorisation of the resources 30 47 Economic dimensions at the farm and local level31 5 Tradition and innovation31 51 Cultural inscription the history of the product uses practices31 511 Medical use 32 512 Cooking use 33 513 Other use 33 52 Patrimonalization heritage dimensions 34 53 Recent changes innovations 34 6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production 35 61 Presentation of the value chain 35 611 Function and role of every actor of the value chain36 612 Purchasing motivation and importance of the origin for the actors of the value

61

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62

Bibliographies

Azene Bekele-Tesemma Birnie A et Bo Tegnas 1999 Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia Identification propagation and management for agriculture and pastoral communities Technical Handbook Ndeg 5 SIDArsquos Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU) Nairobi Kenya

Bareaud M 2007 laquo Analyse-Diagnostic dune petite reacutegion agricole du Sud-Ouest de lEthiopie (WishWish Zone Kafa) raquo DAA developpement agricoleAgroPArisTech77p

Briggs P 2006 laquo Ethiopia the bradt travel guide raquo fourth edition England 600p

BrunetC2007 The Ethiopian Spice Sector A study case on kororima (Aframomum

Kororima) Internal report Project Home Gardens of Ethiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia

CSA ECRI IFPRI 2006 Atlas of Ethiopian Rural Economy Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data98p

CSA2007 Report on monthly average retail prices of goods and services from 395 to 422 statistical bulletin Pages 157-163 Addis Ababa Central Statistics Agency

Cochet H 2007 Recherches en cours sur les systegravemes agro-forestiers agrave cafeacute dans le Sud-Ouest eacutethiopien (Bonga) Rapport de mission Agroparistech

ErsadoM 2001 laquo Inventory of Woody Species in Bonga Forest raquo Institue of Biodiversity Conservation and ResearchTechnical Report Ndeg1 Addis Abeba

Edward S Tadesse M Demissew S Hedberg I 2000 laquo Flora of Ethiopia amp Eritrea Volume 2 part 1 Magnoliace to flacourtiace raquo Addis Ababa Ethiopia-Uppsala Sweden National Herbarium (Ethiopia) p 59-64

Farm Africa Sos Sahel 2004 Commercialization of spices in Bonga Project profile12p

Gascon A 1995 Les enjeux fonciers en Ethiopie et Erythreacutee De lrsquoAncien Reacutegime agrave la Reacutevolution In Blanc-Pamard C et Cambreacutezy L (coordination) Terre terroir territoire les tensions fonciegraveres ORSTOMCEA-URA94 Coll Colloques et Seacuteminaires Paris

KochharSL 1998 laquo Economic botany in the tropics raquo second edition Departugraveent of Botany Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College University of Delhi 604p

MartinsPB SalgueiroL amp al2000 Essentials oils from four Piper species Cited in

website of Direct Science

59

httpwwwsciencedirectcomscience_ob=ArticleURLamp_udi=B6TH7-40M54TJ-

10amp_user=10amp_rdoc=1amp_fmt=amp_orig=searchamp_sort=dampview=camp_version=1amp_urlVe

rsion=0amp_userid=10ampmd5=2e95df5da36a2e6c51bcd5f9dd96c7d8

Planel S 2003 Le Wolaita identiteacute et territoire recompositions spatiales et identitaires drsquoune reacutegion du sud eacutethiopien Thegravese de doctorat Universiteacute de Paris I Pantheacuteon Sorbonne Paris

RousselBVerdeauxF2003 Patrimoine naturel et communauteacutes locales en Ethiopie Avantages et limites dun systegraveme dIndications Geacuteographies Proteacutegeacutees Paper presented at the 29th Annual Spring Symposium of Center for African Studies University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Stellmacher T 2005 Traditional property rights and their influence on forest ressource utilisation in Ethiopia Paper presented at the Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development Stuttgart

60

Materials Table1Several names for one spice2 1 Description and distinctiveness of the product 3 11 Timiz and the Indian Long black pepper 3 12 Europe and the long black pepper 413 Description of the product4131 Botanical description 4132 Chemical description 614 Quality and Origin seen by the value-chain actors 7141 Quality concerns 7142 Demand for quality 10143 Way of selling timiz13 2 Area of production 14 21 Administrative unit region zone woreda kebele 16 22 Mapping 16 23 Cultural categorization of space local divisions of space 17 3 Environment and biodiversity18 31 General description of the environment18 32 Relief 19 33 The Bonga Forest amp biodiversity associated with the timiz 20 34 History of the zone amp demographical data 21 35 Ecological distribution and requirement 22 4 Production 23 41 Production process and actors23 411 General data on production 23 412 Plant development23 42 Typologies of the producers 25 43 Dryness process 27 431 Actors of the drying process 28 44 Impacts on quality29 45 Organization of producers29 46 Categorisation of the resources 30 47 Economic dimensions at the farm and local level31 5 Tradition and innovation31 51 Cultural inscription the history of the product uses practices31 511 Medical use 32 512 Cooking use 33 513 Other use 33 52 Patrimonalization heritage dimensions 34 53 Recent changes innovations 34 6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production 35 61 Presentation of the value chain 35 611 Function and role of every actor of the value chain36 612 Purchasing motivation and importance of the origin for the actors of the value

61

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62

httpwwwsciencedirectcomscience_ob=ArticleURLamp_udi=B6TH7-40M54TJ-

10amp_user=10amp_rdoc=1amp_fmt=amp_orig=searchamp_sort=dampview=camp_version=1amp_urlVe

rsion=0amp_userid=10ampmd5=2e95df5da36a2e6c51bcd5f9dd96c7d8

Planel S 2003 Le Wolaita identiteacute et territoire recompositions spatiales et identitaires drsquoune reacutegion du sud eacutethiopien Thegravese de doctorat Universiteacute de Paris I Pantheacuteon Sorbonne Paris

RousselBVerdeauxF2003 Patrimoine naturel et communauteacutes locales en Ethiopie Avantages et limites dun systegraveme dIndications Geacuteographies Proteacutegeacutees Paper presented at the 29th Annual Spring Symposium of Center for African Studies University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Stellmacher T 2005 Traditional property rights and their influence on forest ressource utilisation in Ethiopia Paper presented at the Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development Stuttgart

60

Materials Table1Several names for one spice2 1 Description and distinctiveness of the product 3 11 Timiz and the Indian Long black pepper 3 12 Europe and the long black pepper 413 Description of the product4131 Botanical description 4132 Chemical description 614 Quality and Origin seen by the value-chain actors 7141 Quality concerns 7142 Demand for quality 10143 Way of selling timiz13 2 Area of production 14 21 Administrative unit region zone woreda kebele 16 22 Mapping 16 23 Cultural categorization of space local divisions of space 17 3 Environment and biodiversity18 31 General description of the environment18 32 Relief 19 33 The Bonga Forest amp biodiversity associated with the timiz 20 34 History of the zone amp demographical data 21 35 Ecological distribution and requirement 22 4 Production 23 41 Production process and actors23 411 General data on production 23 412 Plant development23 42 Typologies of the producers 25 43 Dryness process 27 431 Actors of the drying process 28 44 Impacts on quality29 45 Organization of producers29 46 Categorisation of the resources 30 47 Economic dimensions at the farm and local level31 5 Tradition and innovation31 51 Cultural inscription the history of the product uses practices31 511 Medical use 32 512 Cooking use 33 513 Other use 33 52 Patrimonalization heritage dimensions 34 53 Recent changes innovations 34 6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production 35 61 Presentation of the value chain 35 611 Function and role of every actor of the value chain36 612 Purchasing motivation and importance of the origin for the actors of the value

61

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62

Materials Table1Several names for one spice2 1 Description and distinctiveness of the product 3 11 Timiz and the Indian Long black pepper 3 12 Europe and the long black pepper 413 Description of the product4131 Botanical description 4132 Chemical description 614 Quality and Origin seen by the value-chain actors 7141 Quality concerns 7142 Demand for quality 10143 Way of selling timiz13 2 Area of production 14 21 Administrative unit region zone woreda kebele 16 22 Mapping 16 23 Cultural categorization of space local divisions of space 17 3 Environment and biodiversity18 31 General description of the environment18 32 Relief 19 33 The Bonga Forest amp biodiversity associated with the timiz 20 34 History of the zone amp demographical data 21 35 Ecological distribution and requirement 22 4 Production 23 41 Production process and actors23 411 General data on production 23 412 Plant development23 42 Typologies of the producers 25 43 Dryness process 27 431 Actors of the drying process 28 44 Impacts on quality29 45 Organization of producers29 46 Categorisation of the resources 30 47 Economic dimensions at the farm and local level31 5 Tradition and innovation31 51 Cultural inscription the history of the product uses practices31 511 Medical use 32 512 Cooking use 33 513 Other use 33 52 Patrimonalization heritage dimensions 34 53 Recent changes innovations 34 6 Many operators in the supply chain for a little production 35 61 Presentation of the value chain 35 611 Function and role of every actor of the value chain36 612 Purchasing motivation and importance of the origin for the actors of the value

61

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62

chain 42 613 Organization of the Merkato the biggest market of Africa46 62 Prices and variation49 63 Prices fixation and organization of the commerce 49 631 The variation of the price is linked to the harvesting season so why farmers sell it at this time 50 632 Evolution of prices along the value chain51 633 Payment means amp competition 52 64 A marketing system to be improved 53 7 Assessment of the product as a GI candidate54Conclusion 57Illustrations Table 58Bibliographies 59

62